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About Google Book Search Google's mission is to organize the world's information and to make it universally accessible and useful. Google Book Search helps readers discover the world's books while helping authors and publishers reach new audiences. You can search through the full text of this book on the web at |http : //books . google . com/ ■ 23(?qv ^ |2- H I S T O K ••* OF €HARLES ^XTL KING OF SWEDEN. BY M. De VOLTAIRE. A^)i<£W TRANSLATION FROM THB LAST PARIS ED IT I OK, FE R T H, PUMTID BY &. MORI8ON9 FOR WXLU MORZSOlf^ M>OCCClt :^^iV^ >N^-.i -^-^ •«■ e O N T E N T S. BOOK I. ^ti Abridgment of the Htflory pfSnjiedith to the Reign of Charles. XIL — Hif Education, — His Enemies, — Cha" ra£ler of Czar Peter Akxionuitz, — Curious Anecdotes relative to that Prince and the Ruffian Nation, — Muf covyt Polandt and Denmark, unite againft Charles^ i BOOK II. A Rem^rkahb and unexfieffed Change in the CharaSer of Charles^ — /^ the A^ ef Eighteen he engages in a War againji Denmark^ relanii and Mufcovy, — Finifhes Jhat- 'with Denmark infix Weeks. — Defeats Eighty 'Thoufand Ruffians nmtb only Eight Thoufand S'uaedes'-^Marches h^ Poland, — A defiripiion^f Poland and its Govern^. ment» — Charles gains many Battksi and holmes Mafter ofPoiandr *witrf he'fiKepares ^ apffiint a King. 27; BOOK IIL Stanifiaus Leczinjhy eli£ied King of Pohmd^-^DeiUh of the- Cardinal Primate.-r^kilfkl Retreat of General Schulem- bourg.-^Exploits of the Czar. — Foundation of Peterf burgh, — Battle of Frauenjhd. — Charles enters Saxor^r ^^Peace ofA/tranfijad^r^Aug^fius abdicates the Crowi $9 Favour of Btaniflaus*'^ General Patkulf the.Czar^s Plenipotentiary^ is broke upon the Wheels and quartered. -^Charles receives theAsntiaJfadors of Foreign Princes* — Vijks Auguftus. 7 £ BOOK IV. &arles quits Saxony • — Purfues the Czar,^-m Penetrates sm^ to the Ukraine.-^His Lqffes. — // *wounded. — The Bat- tie of Pulto^a. — Confequences of that BattIe,^-^Charles.. ' i^ forced tofy into Tjvrkey<-^Kn Rccf jUon m Bejota- C O N T E. N T S. BOO K V.- State of tlfe Ottoman Porte, — Charles takes up his Ahodi near Bender. — His Employments. — His Intrigues at the^ Porte, — His Dejigns, — Auguftus regains his Throne*'^ The King of Denmark tnakef a Dejcent upon S'weden.'-^ All the other Dominions of Charles are attacked. — The Czar enters Mofcoiv in Triumph -^The Affair of Prut h» '-—Hiftory of the Czarina^ luho from a Peafant became anEmprefs. 138- B O O K VI. Intrigues at the Ottoman Porte, — The Kam of Tartary and the Pacha of Bender endeavour to force Charles to -. depart — He defends himfelf nuith forty LhmefHcs againfl ' tkixihole.Army ^^Is taken and treated as a Prifoner* 171 BOOK VII; 71>e Turks convey Charles to Demirtafh — King Staniflaus ■ taken thither at the fame time. — The hold AOion ofM. de ViUdongue.^-^Revolutions in4he Seraglic^^Battle in Pomerania. — Altena hurnt by the Swedes. — Charles Jets out on his Return tOi his onvn. Dominions. — His firange Manner of Travelling, — His Arrival at Stralfund. — His Misfortunes,-^ Siicceffes of Peter the Great, — His Triumphant Entry into -Peterfburgh* 1 99 BOO K VIIL Charles gives his Sijler in Marriage to the Ptince ofHeffe.^ — // befieged at Stralfund^ and ejcapes to Sweden. — En- - terprize of Baron de Gdrtz, his Pfime Minifter. — Plan of a Reconciliation with the Czar^ and of a Defcent u- pon England, — Charles bejieges Frederickfhall in Nor* - *iv A MOUTHFUL ;" but hc adduccs no proof, and a popular report (hould only be held as a report. I will not believe even Livy, when he tells me that Pyrrhus's phyfician offered to the Romans to poifon his matter for a bribe. The Romans had fcarce be- gun to coin money, and Pyrrhus could have bought the republic, if it would have fet itfelf to fele. The place of firft phyfician to Pyrrhus was probably more lucrative than that of Conful. I will not believe this fkoiy till it has been proved to mc that fome firft phy- fician EDITION OF MDCCL- ▼ fician of one of our kings has aflced one of the Swifs Cantons to pay him for poifoning his patient. Let us equally miftruft whatever appears exag- gerated. An innumerable army of Perfians impeded by three hundred Spartans at the Pafs of Thermopylae does not ftagger my belief. The nature and difpofi- tion of the country render fuch an event credible. That Charles XI I. with <:ight thoufand veterans, de- feated at Narva about fourfcore thoufand ill-armed Mufcovite peafants, though it aftonifhes me, yet I be-r lieve it ; but when I read that Simon de Montfort^ -with nine lumdred foldiers in three - bodies^ routed an army of an hundred thoufand men, I muft loudly ex--- refs my infidelity. I am told it is a miracle ; but is it likely that God has worked this miracle for Simon de Montfort ? I fhould doubtlefs call in queftioni the combat of Charles XII. at Bender, but that the truth of it has been attefted to me by feveral ocular witnefles, ^nd the chara<5ter of Charles XII. renders probable this beroical extravagance. This^ miftruft which we ought to entertain for particular fadls, let us excrcife alfo iiv regard to- the manners of foreign natbns. Let us re- fufe our confidence to every hiftorian, ancient and mo- dern, who relates to us things contrary to the nature and tura of the human heart. . All the firft accounts of America talked only of Man'* eaters. It feemed, according, to them, that the Ame« ricans eat men as commonly as we do fheep. lliis faft, better. afcertained, dwindles into a fmall number of A3 V^x- vi PREFACE TO THE' prifoners who have been devoured by their conquerors indead of the worms. The ancients, and their innumerable and credulous compilers, repeat to us incefTantly, that at Babylon, the beft policed city in the uniVerfe, all the women and girls proftituted themfelves once a year in the tem- ple of Venus. I have no difficulty in believing that at Babylon, as well as elfewhere, pleafure was to be pur- chafed with money ; but I can never perfuade myfelf, that in the beft policed city which was then in the. univerfe, every father and every hufband fhould fend his wife and his daughters to a market of public prof- titution, and that Legiflators fhould command this extraordinary commerce. Every day a thoufand e- qual abfnrdities are publi(hed refpe<5Hng the manners of the Eaft 5 and, for one traveller like Chardin, how many have we like Paul Lucas 1 A Greek Monk, a Latin Monk write, that Mahomet the fecond delivered the city of Conftantinople over to pillage, that he broke with his own hand the images of Jefus Chrift, and that he turned all the churches into- mofques, . To render this conqueror more hateful, they add, that he cut off the head of his miftrefs to pleafe his jaaiiTaries, and that he cut up th? bellies of fourteen of his pages to find which of them had eaten a melon. An hundred hiftorians copy thefe roiferable fables, and the ditElionaries of Europe i epeat them. Con- fult the real Annals of Turkey compiled by Prince Can- temir, you will fee how ridiculous are all thefe lies. You will learn that the great Mahomet the fecond, ha- ving. EDITION OF MDCCL. vii ▼rag taken ooe half of the city of Conftantinople hj afTaulty deigned to capitulate with the other, and pre- fcrved the churches ; that he created a Greek patri- archy to whom he granted greater honours than the Greek emperors had ever given to the^predeceffors of that bifhop. In fhort, confult common fenfe, and 70a will judge how ridiculous it is to fuppofe that a great monarch, learned, and even polite, as Mahomet the fecond was, fhould evifcerate fourteen pages for a mc» Ion ; and if y.ou are ever fo little informed of the man- ners of the Tutks, you will fee how extravagant it is to imagine that the foldiers ihould concern themfelves with what paHes between the Sultan and his women, and that an Emperor fhould cut o£F the head of his fa- vourite to pleafe them. It is thus however that the greater part of hiftory is written. It is not fo with the hiftory of Charles XII. I can af- firm, that if ever any hiftory was entitled to belief, this^ is. I compofed it originally (as is known) from the memoirs of Monf.^ Fabricius, of Meflrs de Fierville,. and De Villelongue, and from the teftimony ef mar ny ocular witnefles. But as witneifes do not fee all, and as fometimes they fee wrong, I fell into more* than one miftake, not only with regard to material fads,, but alfo in die relation of feme anecdotes, which in themfelves are indifferent, but which furnifti matter of triumph to contemptible critics. I have even made ufe of the Hiftory written by Nor- berg. Chaplain and Confefibr to Charles XII. AU though it is a work very ill digefted and very ill writ* viiL PREFACE TO THE ten ; replete with trifling fa<5ls foreign to the fub-» jcA, and which fets the moft important events in the xnoft trifling light; It is in fd& a mere tifTue of re- fcripts, declarations, and publications which are ufual- ly made in the name of kings when they are at war,- but which never ferve to lay open the true ftate of affair?^ They are ufelefs to the politician and the foldier, and tirefome to the readen A writer may confult them: fometimes only in a cafe of neceflity, for information^ juft as an archite<5t may employ the old rubbifh in a . building. Among the public pieces with which Norberg has loaded his wretched hiftory, there are to be found ma* ny which are fuppofitioiis and abfurd ; fuch as the let* terof Achmet, Emperor of the Turks, whom that hif* torian calls Sultan Bafhaw by the grace of God *. This fame Norberg makes the King of Sweden fay that which he neither faid or could have fa id relative to King Staniflaus. He pretends that Charles XLL in anfwer to the.obje«ftions of the Primate, told him^ that Staniflaus had made many friends during hisjour«- ney to Italy ; although it is certain that Staniflaus was never in Italy, as it is confirmed by the teftimony of that monarch himfelf. Norberg had neither underftanding, wit^ nor ac- quaintance with the affairs of the world, and this is probably what determined Charles XII. to choofe him for his confeffor. I do not think he has fet his prince in the light even of a good Chriftian,.but moft aflured- h , ♦ See the letter of M. Voltaire to M. Norberg. EDITION OF MDCCL. ix ty he has not made him a hero. Charles XII. wo!ilc!» ere this have been forgotten, had he none other than Norberg to preferve his name from oblivion. It is proper to lemarkin this place, that there was publifhed a few years fmce, a fmall pamphlet intituled " Hiftorical and Critical Remarks upon the Hiftory of « Chaxles XII. by M. de Voltaire." This little work is Count Poniatowfky's. It confifts of anfwers he had given to frefh queftions on my part during his late journey to Paris, but his fccretary having taken a double copy of it, it fell into a bookfcUer's hands, who did not fail to print it, and the correAor of the prefs in Holland entitled Mr Poniatowfky's information " a *< Critique," to fell it the better. This is one of the mod trifling frauds which are pradtifed in that trade. La Mottraye, a fervant of Monfieur Fabricius, has alfo printed fome remarks upon this hiflory. Amid(i the miftakes and the frivoloufnefs with which this cri» tique of La Mottraye abounds, there is, not withftand- ing fomething both ufeful and true, and I have taken care to profit by it in the later editions, and efpecially in this ; for in writing hiftory nothing muft be defpifed ; we muft confult, if we have the opportunity, both kings and vakts-de-chambre. A DISSERTATION ON THE HISTORY OF CHARLES XH. THERE are very few fovereigns whofe hiftory- ought to have been written apart. In vain have flattery and malignity exerted themfelves for al-- moft every prince. There is btit a very fmall number of them whofe memory we preferve, and this number- would be ftill fmaller if we remembered only fuch as w^re virtuous* The princes that have the beft claim to immortality- are they who have done fome good to mankind ; thus as long as France fhall eqjdure it will remember the affe<5tion of Louis the Twelfth for his people. The great faults of Francis the Fir ft will be forgiven for the fake of the arts and fciences of which he was the father. Bleft will be the memory of Henry the Fourth, who con- quered his inheritance firft by his valour and then by his clemency. The magnificence of Louis the Four- teenth will be applauded, who protected the arts which Francis had called into exiftcnce. For A DISSERTATION, &c. xt For a contrary reafon we prcferve the memory of *bad princes, as we record fires, plagues, and immda- tions. . Conquerors are a fpecies between good kings and Tyrants, but partake mofl of the latter, and have a glaring reputation. We are eager to know the moft minute circumftanccs of their lives. Such is the mi- fcrable weaknefs of mankind, that they look with ad- miration upon perfons glorious for mifchief, and are better pleafed to be talking of the deftroyer than the founder of an empire. As for thofe Princes who have made no figure either in peace or war ; who have neither been remarkable for great virtues nor vices ; their lives furnifh fo little matter either for imitation or inftiu<5tion that tliey arc not worthy of notice. Of fo many Emperors of Rome, Greece, Germany, and Mufcovy ; of fo many Sultans, Caliphs, Popes, and Kings, how few are there whofe names deferve to be recorded any where but in chro- nological tables, where they are of no other ufe but to mark the e^ochas I There is a Vulgah among Princes as well as among the reft of mankind, yet fuch is the itch of writings that a Prince is no fooner dead, but the world is im- mediately deluged with volumes under the name of memoirs, the hiftory of his life, or the anecdotes of his court. By thefe means books have been fo multiplied, ihat were a man to live an hundred years, and employ them all in reading, he would not be able to run over negle<5led in Sweden ; the Po- lifli infantry was better difciplined, and had an uni- form which it did not wear at the firft period. In read- ing hiftory we muft always confider the time of its •writing. A perfon who (hould read only the memoiis of the Cardinal de Retz, would take the French na- tion for a fet of enthufiafts, breathing nothing but fac- tion, madnefs, and civil war. To read the hiftory of the fortunate years of Louis the Fourteenth, one would Judge them a people born only fox obtdletYce, conquefl:. HISTORY OF CHARLES XII. xr and the polite arts. Another who (hould fee the memoirs of the firft years of Louis the Fifteenth, would remarb nothing in our nation but its effeminacy, an extreme avidity for wealth, and too much mdifference for eve- ry thing befides. The prefent Spaniards are not the Spaniards of Charles the Fifth, and yet they may defcrve that cha- Tz€tcT in a few years. The Engliih of this age no more referable the Fanaticks in Cromwell's time, than the Monks and Monfignort who fill the (Ireets of Rome are like the ancient Scipio*s. I doubt whether the Swedifh troops could fuddenly become fo formidable as thofe of Charles the Twelfth. We fay of a man, that he was brave at fuch a time ; and fo we may fay of a nation, they were fo and fo in fuch a year, or un- der fuch an adminiilration. ^ If any Prince of Mnifter of State fhould meet with- difagreeable truths hi this book, remember, that be- ing public men, they owe an account of their anions to the public ; that this is the price with which they puichafe their greatnefs ; that hiftory is a witnefs and not a flatterer ; «nd that the only way to force men to fpeak well of us, is to a A welL Ba THE- THE HISTORY OF CHARLES Xir. KING OF SWEDEN. BOOK L argument: An Abridgement of the Hiftory of Sweden, to the Reign of Charles XII. — His Education. — His Enemies. — Charader of Czar Peter Alexiowitz. — Curious Anecdotes relative to that Prince and the Ruffian Nation. — Mufcovy, Poland,, and Denmark unite agJiift Charles. SWEDEN and Finland fornxa kingdom one third part greater in extent than France, but very in- ferior to it in fertility, and at this time in population. This country extends nearly from thie fifty-fifth to the feventieth degree of north latitude, being in length three, and in breadth two hundred French leagues^ and lies under a fevere climate, that hath hardly either fpring or autumn* Winter prevails there nine months ^ of the year ; the heat of fummer immediately lucceed- ing to the winter's exceflive cold ; it beginning to freeze in' the month of O^ober, without any of thofe infenfible gradations, which in other countries ufher in the feafons, and render the variation the more plea- fing. Nature, as a compenfation, however, has givea . to this fevere climate a ferene fky, and a pure air. The almoll continual heat of the fummer's fun, producea fiower&aad fruits in a ihort time« The tedioufnefs of 2 HISTORY OF CHARLES Xir. the long winter-nights is alleviated by the mornings and evening twilights, which la ft in proportion as the fun is more or lefs removed from Sweden. At the fame time the biightnefs of the moon, which is not obfcured by clouds, but increafed by the re- flexion of the fnow lying upon the earth, and fre- quently by the northern lights, renders it as convenient to travel in Sweden by night as by day. The cattle are in this country, through want of pafturage, fmaller than thofe of the more fouthern parts of Europe. The men are larger ; the ferenity of the fky conduces to . their health, as the rigour of the climate does to their ftrength ; they live even to a greater age than other men, when not debilitated by the immoderate ufe o£ wine and ftrong liquors, which the Northern nations feem to be the more immoderately fond of in proper-, tion as they are denied to them by Nature. The Swedes are well made, robuft, adive, and cap- able of fuftaining the greateft fatigue, hunger, and pe- nury. Born to a military life, full of pride, more brave than induftrious, they have long negledted, and even to this day but badly cultivate, the arts of com- . merce, which only can fupply them with what is want- ing to their country. It is faid to be principally from Sweden, of which one part is ftill named Gothland, that thofe multitudes of Goths iflued forth, who, like an inundation, overwhelmed Europe, and rent it from the Roman empire, which had for five hundred years . been its ufurpcr, its legiflator, and its tyrant. The Northern countries were at that time much- more populous than at prefent ; not only from their religion affording the inhabitants an opportunity of fumilhing the State with a greater number of fubje(fls, by the poflefllon of a plurality of wives ; but becaufe the women themfelves knew no reproach like that of fterility and idlenefs ; and being as laborious and robufi: as the men, they attained earlier, and remained longer hi the time of fecundity. Sweden preferved its liberty till the' middle of the fourteenth century : for though during fo long a period KING OF SWEDEN. • ^ there happened more than one revolution in govern- ment, fuch revolutions turned out conftantlj in favour of freedom. To its chief magi ft rate was given the name of King, a title that in different countries has very different degrees of power annexed to it. In France and Spain it fignifies an abfolute monarch ; in. Poland, Sweden, and England, the head of the com- monwealth- The King of Sweden could jdo nothing without the fenate ; and the fenate depended upon the States-General, which were often convened. "^The re- prefentatives of the nation in thefe numerous affemblies,., were the gentlemen, bifhops, and deputies of the towns ; and, in procefs of time, the peafantry, a clafs of peo- ple unjuftly flighted in other nations, and enflaved in •Almoft all the countries of the North. About the year 1492, this nation^ though jealous of its liberty, and boailing even to this day o( having conquered Rome thirteen centui ies ago, was reduced to flavery by a woman, and a people lefs powerful tjian themfelves. ^ Margaret Waldemar, the Semiramis of the North, Queen of Denmatk and Norway, joining addrefs to force, conquered Sweden, and formed thefe three great ftates into one kingdom. After her deceafe, the coun- try was diftraded by civil wars ; throwing off and fub- mitting again to the Danifti yoke, under the alternate adminiftration of kings and popular protefiors. Two of thefe tyrants oppreffed them terribly about the year 1520; the one, Chriftiern II, King of Denmark, a monfter in vice, without one compenfating virtue ; the other an archbifliop of Upfal, primate of the kingdom, equally barbarous with King Chriftiern. Thefe two, . in concert, caufed the confulsand magiftrates of Stock- holm, together with ninety-four fenators, to be ftized in one day and mafTacred by the common executioners, under the pretext that they were excommunicated by the Pope for having defended the rights of the State ^gainft the Archbifhop. After this they gave up Stockholm to be pillaged, and the whole tovitv. "R^-as f ut to the fword, without diftindioaof ag^ ot^feL, '^sy^ 4 HISTORY OF CHARLES XIL ' While ihefe men, agreeing as to the means of op- predion, and diflfering only in dividing the (poil, were committing afts of the greateft cruelty, and excercifing the mod tyrannical defpotifm, a fingular and novel e- vent gave a turn to the aflPairs of the North. Guftavus Vafa, a youth defcended from the ancient Kings of Sweden, iffued forth from amidft the forefts of Dalecarlia, where he had lain concealed, in order to deliver liis^ country, from flavery. He had one of thofe great fouls which nature fo feldom forms, poC- fefled of all the qualities neceflary to govern mankind. The advantages of a fine perfon, and a noble mien» prepofTeffed every one in his favour, fo that he gained partizans wherever he appeared. His eloquence, to which his engaging deportment gave peculiar force, was the more perfuafive as it was artlefs and fimple. His enterpiizing. genius formed thofe projecfls which to the vulgar appear rafh, but are imputed to a noble daring, by great minds ; and thefe his courage and perfeverance enabled him to accomplifh. Intrepid yet prudent, of a gentle dilpofition in a ferocious age, he was, in fhort, as virtuous as it is fuppofed the head of a party can pofllbly be* Guftavus had been the hoftage of Chriftiem, and had been detained a prifoner contrary to the law of nations. Having efcaped from prifon, he had difguifed himfelf in the habit of a peafant, and wandered about in the mountains and woods of Dalecarlia ; where he was reduced to the neceflity of working in the copper- mines, for fubfiftence and concealment. Buried as he was in thefe fubterraneous caverns, he had the courage to form ihe dcTign of dethroning the tyrant. To this end be dil'covered himfelf to the peafants, who looked upon him as one of that fuperior order of beings to which common men owe a natural fubmiffion. Thefe ftrvile favages he foon converted into foldiers. He at? tacked Ghriftiern and the Archbiftiop, repeatedly de? feated them, baniihed-them from Swedfen, and, at laft, wiis defervedly chofen by the States King of that counr irr of wbicb be iad been a deliverer. H6.^ KING OF SWEDEN. g He was fcarcely eftabliflied on the throne, when he undertook an enterprize ftill more difficult than coit- qucft. The real tyrants of the State were the Bifliops^ who having engrofled almoft all the wealth of the king- dom, made ufe of it to opprefs the fwbjedh, and make war upon the King. Their power was the more for- midable, as popular ignorance held it to be facred. On the Catholic religion, therefore, Guftavus revenged the criminality of its minifters ; fo that in lefs than two years Luthcranifm was introduced into Sweden ; and that rather by the arts of policy, than by the influence of authority. Having thus conquered the kingdom, as he ufed to exprefs it, from the Danes and the clergy, he reiVned a fuccefsful and abfolute monarch to the age ot feventy, when he died full of glory, leaving his family and religion in peaceable pofleffion of the throne* GuHavus Adolphus was on&of hi$ defcendants, com^ monly called the Great Guftavus. This Prihcc made a conqueft of liigria, Livonia, Bremen, Verdun, Wi£» Inar, and Pomerania, beQdes above a hundred places in Germany, which, after his death, T^ere yielded vt^ by the Swedes. He Ibook the throne of Ferdinand the Second, and prote^ed the Lutherans in Geimany, in which he was fecretly affifted by the See of Rome, who dreaded the power of the Emperor muck more than that of herefy. It was this Guftavus who, by his vi^ories, contributed in fa^ to humble the Houie of Auftria ; although the glory of that enterprize is ufu- ally afcribcd entirely to Cardinal de Richelieu, who well knew how to procure .hirofelf the reputation of thoie great a^lions which Guftavus was content with perfoniiing. He was on the point of extending the war beyond the Danube, and perhaps of dethroning the Emperor, when he was killed, in the thirty-feventh year of his age, at the battle of Lutzen, which he gained ovor Walftein, carrying with him to his grave the name of Great, lamented by the people of the North, and refpe^ed even by his enemies. His daughter Chriftina, a woman of uncommon jcnius, was much fonder of converfmg wab tsv^\n.<:>£ 6 HISTORY OF CHARLES XII. letters, than of reigning over a people whofe know- ledge was confined to the art of war. She rendered herfelf as famous for refigning a throne, as her ancef- tois had been for obtaining or eftablifhing it. The proteftants have afperfed her charaifler, as if it were impoffible for a perfon to be pofTefTed of great virtues without adhering to Luther y while the papifts have triumphed too much on the pretended converfion of a woman, who was no more than a philofbpher. She retired to Rome, where (he pafTed the remainder of her days in the mid ft of the arts fhe was fond of, and for which fhe had renounced a kingdom at twenty- feven years of age. Before her abdication, fhe prevailed on the States of Sweden to eledl her coufin, Charles Guftavus X. fon to the Count Palatine, and Duke of Deux-Ponts, to fuccecd to the crown. This Prince added new con- quefts to thofe of Guftavus Adolphus ; carrying im- mediately his arms into Polanc^ where he gained the famous battle of Warfaw, which lafted three days. He waged a long and fuccefsful war with the Danes ; bci- fieged their capital ; re-united Schonen to Sweden ; and confirmed, at leaft for a time, the Duke of Hol- ftein in the pofleffion of Slefwick* Experiencing after- wards a reverfe of fortune, he concluded a peace with bis enemies, and turned his ambition againft his fub- jedls. Thus he formed^ the defign of eftablifhing a def^ potic government in Sweden, but died, like Guftavus the Great, in the thirty-feventh year of his age, before he had been able to complete that fyftem of defpotifm which was brought to perfe«5fcion by his fon, Charles XL Charles XI. a warrior like his anceftors, was more defpotic than any of them. He abolifhed the autho- rity of the fenate, which was declared the fenate of the king, and not of the kingdom. He was frugal, vigi- lant, indefatigable ; which would have made him be- loved by his fubje<5ts, had not his defpotic fpirit con- verted their love into fear. In 1 680 he married Ulrica Eleonora, daughter to Frederick Uh King of Denmark, a princefs.of great KING OF SWEDEN. 7 Virtues, and worthy of greater confidence than her hufband repofed in her. Of this marriage, on the 27th of June, 1682, was bom King Charles XII. the moft extraordinary man, perhaps, that ever appeared in the world. In him were united all the great qua- lities of his anceftors ; nor had he any other fault or misfortune but that he carried all thefe virtues to ex- cefs. It is this Prince of whom we propofe to write whatever we have learnt with certainty relating either to his perfon oi>his adlions. The firft book he was fet to read was the work of Samuel Puffendorff, in order to give him an early knowledge of his own and the neighbouring States. The firft foreign language taught him was the Ger- man ; which he continued ever after to fpeak with the fame fluency as his mother-tongue. At feven years of age he was a proficient in horfemanfhip ; when the violent exercifes in which he delighted, and which difcovered his martial turn, foon gave him a vigorous conftitution, capable to fupport the fatigues to which his natural inclination prompted him. Though gentle in his infancy, he betrayed an inflex- ible obftinacy. The only way to bend him, was to a- waken his fenfe of honour ; with the name of Glory, •every thing could be obtained from him. He had an averfion to Latin; but as foon as he heard that the kings -of Poland and Denmark underftood it, he learned it prefently, and retained fo much of it as to be able to ■fpeak it all the reft of his life. The fame means were employed to engage him to learn the French ; but he ■per fitted, as long as he lived, in the difufe of that tongue, which he would not fpeak even to the French Ambaffadors themfelves, though they underftood no -other. As foon as he had acquired a little knowledge of the Latin, his teacher made him tranflate Quintus Curtius; a book to. which, he was attached ftill more on account •of the fubjeA than the ftyle. The preceptor who ex- plained this author to him aflting hini> one d^LX^ -wV^x. he thought of Alexander : <« I think," faVd xh^ '?i\Tvce> 8 HISTORY OF CHARLES Xlt. *< I could wifh to refemble him." " But,*' refumed the preceptor, " he lived only two-and-thirty years." «< And is not that long enough (replied he) for one ** who has conquered kingdoms ?" ' The courtiers did not fail to report thefe anfwers to the King his father^ ■who exclaimed, " This boy will furpafs his father, and ** even Guftavus the Great." Amufmg himfelf one day in the royal apartments in viewing two plans, the one of a town in Hungary, which the Turks had taken from the Emperor ; the other of Riga, the capital of Xiivonia, a province conquered by the Swedes, abo^t a century before ; under the plan of the town in Hun- gary were written thefe words, taken from the book of Job : " The Lord hath given it me, and the Lord hath " taken it from me ; blened be the name of the Lord." The young Prince having read this infcription, imme« diately took a pencil, and wrote under the plan of Riga, «« The Lord hath given it to me, and the devil fhall ** not take it from me." Thus, in the moft indifferent adtions of his childhood, his unconquerable fpirit would frequently difcover the charaderiftic traces of an un- common genius, which plainly indicated what he would one day prove. He was eleven years of age when he loft his mother; who died on the fifth of Auguft, 1 693, of a difeafe, as was fuppofed, owing to the bad ufage fhe had received' from her hufband, and to her endeavours to conceal her chagrin. Charles XI. had, by means of a certain court of juftice called the Chamber of Liquidations, ereded by his fole authority, deprived a great number of his fubje<3s of their wealth. Crouds of citizens ruined by this Chamber, nobility, merchants, farmersj widows, and orphans, filled the ftreets of Stockholm, and daily repaired to the gate of the palace, to vent their unavailing complaints. The Queen relieved thefe unhappy people as much as lay in her power; fhei gave them her money, her jewels, her furniture, and even her clothes : and when fhe had no more to give them, (he threw herfelf in tears at her hufband's feety befeechwg him to have pity on hisfoV^e^^. TVv^ Kin^ KING OF SWEDEN. ^ gravely anfw^rcd her, " Madam, wc took you to bring " VIS children, not to give us advice ;" and from that time he is faid to have treated her with a feverity which flioitened her days. He died four years after her, on the fifteenth of A- |>ril 1697, in the forty-fecond year of his aee, and the thirty- feventh of his reign, at a time when the Empire, Spain, and Holland, on one frde, and France on the other, had referred the dccifion of their quarrels to his arbitration, and when he had already begun the work ■"o£ pacification between thefe powers. He left his fon, who was then fifteen years of age, a throne well eftablifhed at home, and refpefled abroad ; fubje^ls poor indeed, but warlike and loyal 5 with fi- nances in good order, and under the management of able minifters. Charles XII. at his acccflion to the throne^ found -himfelf not only the abfolute and undift'urbed mafter of Sweden and Finland, but alfo of Livonia, Carelia, Ingria, Wifmar, Wibourg, the iflands of Rugen and Oefel, and the fined part of Pomerania, together witk the duchy of Bremen and Verdun, all or them the conquefts of his anceftors, fecured to the crown by long pofleflion, and by the folemn treaties of Munfter and -Oliva, and fupported by the terror of the Swe^ifh arms. The peace of Ryfwick, begun under the aufpices of liis father, being concluded under thofe of the fon, he found himfelf the niediator of Europe, al the com- mencement of his reign. The laws of Sweden fix the majority of their Kings at the age of fifteen ; but Charles XL who was entire- ly abfolute, deferred by his laft will the majority of his fon to the age of eighteen. In this he favoured the "ambitious views of his mother Edwiga-Eleonora, of Holftein, Dowager of Charles X. who was appointed ■by the King her fon tutorefs to the young King her grandfon, and Regent of the kingdom, in conjundion, with a Council of five perfons. The Regent had had a (hare in the management of public afiairs during the reign of her fou% S^t ^^wck^ C ^dc^^wc^^ JO HISTORY OF CHARLES XII. advanced in y^ars; buther ambitipn, which was greater than her genius, prompted her to entertain tlie hopes of pofTefllng authority for a long time under the King her grandfon. She kept him at as great a diftance as pal^ Sble from aflfairs of ilate. The young Prince pafled his time either in hunting or in reviewing his troops, and would even fometimes exercife with them ; which a- mufemeut feemed only to be the natural eflfe<5t of his youthful vivacity. He never betrayed any dilfatisfac- tion fufficient to alarm the Regent, who flattered her- felf that the diffipation of mind occafioned by thefe di- vetiions would render him incapable of application, and leave her the longer in poffeflion of the regal power. One day in the month of November, in the fame year his father died, after having reviewed feveral re- giments, as Piper, the Counfellor of State, w^as {land- ing by him, he feemed to be abforbed in a profound reverie. " May I take the liberty (faid Piper to him) " of aiking your Majefty what yo\i are thinking of fo <* ferioufly :" " I am thinking (replied the Prince) ** that I am worthy to command thefe brave fellows ; *' and I don't like that either they or I fhould any " longer receive orders from a woman." Piper imme- diately feized this opportunity of making his fortune ; but, confcious that his own intereft was not fufficient for the execution of fuch a dangerous enterprize as the removal of the Queen from the Regency, and the haf- tening of the King's majority, he propofed the affair to Count Axel Sparre, a man of an ardent mind, and who fought to procure himfelf credit. On being flat- tered with the confidence of the King, »Spari e entered into his meafures, and undertook the management of the whole bufmefs, while he was working only to pro- mote the intereft of Piper. The Counfellors of the Regency were foon brought over to the fcheme, and precipitated the execution of it, in order to recommend ibemfelves the more effedually to the King. They w^nt in a body to propofe it to the Queen, ^ho by no means expeded fuch a declaration. The Stat&:^'GencraX were then affembled : ihe Counfellors \ ^€ KING OF SWEDEN. rr ©f the Regency propofed the affair ; there was not a diffenting voice ; the point was carried with a rapidity that nothing couid withftand ; fo that Charles XII. had only to fignify his defire of reigning, and in three days the States bellowed the government upon him. The power and credit of the Q^een funk in an inftant ; (he led afterwards a life of retirement, more fuitable to her age, though lefs agreeable to her temper. The King was crowned on the 24th of December following, on which day he made his entry into Stockholm, on a' forrel horfe fhod with filver, having a fceptre in his hand, and a crown upon his head, araidft the accla- mations of a whole people, fond of novelty, and con- ceiving always great hopes from a young I?f ince. ^ The ceremony of the confecralion and coronation belongs to the Archbifhop of Upfal ; almod the only privilege that remains to him of the great number that were enjoyed* by his predeceflbrs. After having a-- nointed the Prince, according to cuftom, he held the crown in his hand, in order to put ic upon his head ; when Charles fnatched it from him, and crowned him- Iclf, regarding the poor prelate all the wfiile with a* ftcm look. The multitude, who are always dazzled by every thing that has an air of grandeur, applauded' this adion of the King. Even thofe who had groaned moft feverely under the tyranny of the father, fuffered themfelves to applaud in the fon this arrogance, which- was a prefage of their llayery. Charles was no fooner mafter of the kingdom, than* he made Piper his chief confidant, entrufting him at' the fame time with the management of public affairs, making him prigie minifter, though without the name. A few days after he created him a Count, which is a dignity of great eminence in Sweden, and not an emp- ty title, that may be affumed without any importance, • as in France. The beginning of the King's reign gave no very fa- vourable idea of his charatage of his youth, cbnfpiredi almojft at the fame time, to effed his ruin. The firft was Frederick IV. King of Denmark, his coufin. The fecond was Auguftus, Eledor of Sax- ony, and King of Poland. Peter the Great, Czar oF Mufcovy, was the third, and the moft dangerous. It- is neceflary to unfold the origin of thefe wars, which produced fuch great events. To begin with Denmark. . Of the two fifters of Charles XII. the eldeft was married to the Duke of Holftein, a young Prince of an undaunted fpirit; and^f a gentle, difo^^^joj^^ 1^. ^'uice, cppreiicd by th€ King vt I/enmaric, repairw: to Stockholm with his fpoufe, and, throwing himfelf into the arms of the King, carneftly implored his af.,. fiftance ; not only on account of being his brother-ift* law, but as he was likewife the King of a people who bore an irreconcileable hatred to the Danes. The ancient Houfe of Holftein, diflblved into that of Oldenburg, had been advanced by elc(flion to the throne of Denmark in 1449. All the kingdoms of the North were at that time ele which opened to him the dominion of the Black Sea. But it was by afkions dill more glorious than his victories that he afpired to thejiame of Great. Muf- covy, or Ruflia, comprehends the northern parts of Afia and of Europe, extending from the frontiers of China for the fpace of fifteen hundred leagues, to the bordeis of Poland and Sweden. This immenfe coun- try, however, was hardly known to Europe, belbre the time cf Czar Peter.. The Mufcovites weie lefs ci- vilized than the Mexicans, when difcovered by Cortes : born the flaves of matters as barbarous as themfelves, they remained in a ftate of ignorance, in want of all the arts, and in fuch an infenfibility of that want, as fupprefled every motive tojnduftry. An ancient law, which they held as facrcd, forbade them, under pain of death, to leave their native country without peimif- fion of their Patriarch. This law, enafted with a view to preclude them from all opportunities of becoming fenfible of their flavery, was yet acceptable to a people who, in the depth of their ignorance and mifery, dif- dained all commerce with foreign nations. The asra of the Mufcovites bears date from U\^ Cx^- i6 HISTORY OF CHARLES Xn. *tion of the world; fince which they conceive 7207 years were elapfed at the beginning of the laft century, without being able to aflign any reafon for- this com- putation. The fivd day of their year anfwered to the thirteenth of September, New Style. The reafon al- ledged for this regulation is, that it is moft probable- God created the \Yorld in autumn, the feafon when, the fruits of the earth are in their full maturity. Thus, the only appearance of knowledge which they had,.. was founded in grofs error: not one of them ever dreamed that the autumn of Mufcovy might pofllbly he the i^ring of another country, fituated in an oppo- fite climate. It was not long {ince the people at Mof- cow were going to burn the fecretary of a Perfian am- baifador, who had foretold an eclipfe of the fun. They, did not fo much as know the ufe of figures ; but in all their computaxions made ufe.of little beads ftrung upon;, brafs wires- They had no other manner of reckonings in the offices of revenue, not even in the treafury oft the Czar. Their religion was, and dill is, that of the Greek.-- Chriftlans, but mixed witli many fuperftitious rites, to,.- which they were. the more ftrongly attached, in pro- portion as they were the nwre extravagant, 'and their: burthen the more intolerable. Few Mufcovites would, dare to eat a pigeon, becaufe the Holy.Ghoft is paint- ed in the form of a dove. They regularly obferved:- four Lents in the year ; during which times of abfti- nence they never prcfumed to eat either eggs or milk.; God and St Nicholas were the objedts of their worfhip^.. and next to them the Czar' and the Patriarch. The authority of the laft. was as unbounded as the ignorance.- of the people. He pronounced fentence of death, arid- inflifted the moft cruel pnniftiments, without any pof-. fibility of an appeal from his triblmal. He made at folenm procefllon twice a- year on horfe-back, attended by :0i his clergy. The Czar, on foot, held the bridle, of his horfe, and the people proftrated tbemfelves be- fore him in the ftreets, as the Tartars do before tlieir. Qrafid LamsLf ConfeUlon was in ufe among them, . KING OP SWEDEN. ij ihxt It w^s only in cafes of the grcatcft crimes. In thcfc abfoliition was neceilar)r» but not repentance. They thought themfelves pure in the (ieht of God, as foon as they received the benedidion ot their Papas. Thus they pafled, without remorfe, from, confeflion to theft and murder ; and what among other Chriftians is a re- ftraint from vic^, with them was an encouragement to wickednefs. They would not even venture to drink milk on a fad ; although on a feftival, mafters of fa- milies, prieds, married women, and maids, would make no fcruple to intoxicate themfelves with brandy. ITiere were religious difputes, however, among them> as well as in other countries ; but their greateft con- troverfy was, whether lay-men fhould make the (ign of the crofs with two fingers or with three. One Ja- ' cob Nurfoff, in the preceding reign, had raifed a fedi- tion in Aftracan, on the fubjet the Czars in fubjeftion. This body of foldiery, more formidable to their mafters jhan to their neighbours, cotviifted of about thirty ^v^-j XING OF SWEDEN. 21 tJionfand foot, one half of which remained at Mofcow, ■while the other was ftationed upon the frontiers. The pay of a Strelitz was no more than four roubles a- year ; but this deficiency was amply compenfated by privileges and extortions. Peter formed at fir ft a com- pany of foreigners, among whom he enrolled his own name, and did not think it beneath his dignity to be- gin the fervice in the capacity of a drummer, and to perform the duties of that mean office ; fo much did the nation ftand in need of examples ! By degrees he became an officer. He gradually raifed new regiments ; and at laft, finding himfelf matter of a well-difciplined army, he broke the Strelitz, who durft not difobey him. The cavalry were nearly the fame with that of Po- land, or what the French formerly was, when the kingdom of France was no more than an a/Temblagc of fiefs. The gentlemen were mounted" at their own cxpcnce, and fought without difcipline, and fome- times with no otlier arms than a fabre or a bow, in- capable of command, and confcquently of conqiieft. Peter the Great taught them to obey, both by the example he fet, and the punifhment he infli<5led ; for he ferved ki the quality of a foldicr and fubaltern offi- cer, and as Czar he feverely punifhed the Boyards, that is, the gentlemen, who pretended that it was the pri- vilege of their order not to fcrve but by theii own confent. He eftabliflied a regular body to ferve the artillery, and took five hundred bells from the churches to be converted into cannon. In the year 1714 he had thirteen thoufand pieces of ordnance. He likewife formed companies of dragoons, troops very fuitable to the genius of the Mufcovites, and to the fize of their horfes, which are fmall. In 1738 the Ruffians had thirty regiments of thefe dragoonB, confilHng of a thoufand men each, well difciplined and accoutred. He likewife eftabliflied regiments of huffars in Ruffia, and had even a fchool of engineers, in a country where, before himfelf, no one underftood the elements of geo- metry. He was alfo himfelf a good ei\g\tittx \ Vi\x\.\\\s chief excellence lay in his knowledge ^i i\2c^2\ ;\Slvcs\ D V^ 22 HISTORY OF CHARLES XII. he was an able fea captain, a fkilful pilot, a good fat- lor, an expert (hip-wright, and his knowledge of thefe arts was the more meritorious, as he was bom with a great dread of the water. In his youth he could not pafs over a bridge with- out trembling : on all thefe occa(ions he caufed the wooden windows of his coach to be fhut; but of this conftitutional weaknefs he foon got the better by hi« . courage and refolution. He jcaufed a beautiftil har- bour to be built at the mouth of the Tanais, near Aibph, in which he. propofed to keep a number of gallies | and fometime after» thinking that thefe ^ve/Fels, fo long, light, and flat, would probably fucceed in the Baltick, ^he had upwards of three hundred of them built at his .favourite city of Peterfburgh, He fhewed his fubjed^s the method of building ibips with deals only, and taught them the art of navigation. He had even learnt furgery, and, in a cafe of neceffity, has bc^ known to tap a perfon -for the drgpfy. He was well verfed in mechanics, and inftruded the workmen. The revenue of the Czar, when compared to the xmmenfe. extent of bis dominions, was indeed incon& derable. It rjever amoiinted to four-and-twenty mil- lions of livres, reckoning* (;he ixiark at about fifty livr^ as we do to-day, though we may not do fo to-morrow. But he may always be accounted rich, who has it in lais power to accompli fh, great undertakings. It is net ,the fcarcity of money that debilitates ^a. State, it. is .the want of men, and of men of abilities. Ruflia, notwithftanding the women are-fruitful and •the men robuft, is not very populous. Peter himfelf, in civilizing his dominions, unhappily contributed to the decreafe of his people. Frequent levies in his war^, which were long and unfuccefsful ; nations tranfplant- ed from the coafts of the Cafpian Sea to thofe of the Daltick, deftroye J by fatigue, or cut off by difeafes ; three-fourths cf the Mufcovite children dying of the fmall pox, which is more dangerous in thofe climates t/ian hi any other ; in a word, the melancholy effe^s of a government favagc for alotv^ Xm^, ^iidVi^jb^rous KING OF SWEDEN. ^3'. even in its police ; thefe are the caufes that in this - country, comprehending fo great a part of the conti- nent, there are ftill vaft defarts. Ruffia is, at prefent, fuppofed to contain five hundred thoufand families of gentlemen ; two hundred thoufand lawyers; fomething more than five millions of citizens and peafants, who . pay a fort of land tax ; fix hundred thoufand men in the provinces conquered from the Swedes. The Cof- facks in the Ukraine, and the Tartars that are fubjeft to Mafcovy, do not exceed two milirons ; in fine it ap- pears that in this immenfe country there are not above ' fourteen milUons of people, that is a little more than two-thirds of the inhabitants of France.* While the Czar was thus employed in changing the laws, the manners, the militia, and the very fiice of his country, he likewife refolded to encreafc his great- nefs by encouraging commerce, which at once confti- tntes the riches of a particular State, and contributes to the intereft of the world in general. He undertook to makle Rufiik the center ofnrade between Afia and • Europe. He determined to join the Duna, the Volga, and the Tanais, by canals, of which he drew the plans ; and thus to open a new pa/Tage from the Bahick to the Euxine and Cafpian feas, and from thofe feas to the Northern Ocean. The port of Archangel, frozen up nine months in the year, and which could not be en- tered without making a long and dangerous circuir, did not appear to him fuificicntly commodious. So long ago, therefore, as the year 1 700, he had formed a defign of opening a fea-port on the Baltick that ftioitld become the magazine of the North, and of building a city that Ihould prove the capital of his empire. ' He had even then Attempted the difcovery of a north- eaft paflage to China; and the manufadlures of Pekin and Paris were intended to embellilh his new city. D 2 A road ♦This was -vrritten Jn the y^ar 1727. The population of Rufiia. hath greatly incrcafed fince that time, as well by militaiy con- quftt, as by the arts of civil policy, and the care which has heeii taken to induce foreigU£r» to eomu ta and teliue. Vu Oct cv^uwu^s 24 HISTORY OF CHARLES XII. A road by land, 754 verfts* long, running through marfties that were to be drained, was to lead from Mofcow to his new city. Moft of thefe proje<5ls have been executed by himfelf ; and the two Eroprefles, lys fucceflbrs, have even improved upon thofe of his. fchemes that were practicable, and abandoned only fuch as it w.is impoflible to accomplifli. He always travelled through his dominions a» much as his wars would permit ; but he travelled like a le- giflator and a naluralift ; examining Nature every where ; endeavouring to correal or peife6l her ; taking himfelf the foundings of feas and rivers ; ordering- flulces, vifiting docks, caufi-ng mines to be worked, af- fiiying metals, and in direding accurate charts to be drawn, in the execution of which he himfelf afllfted. Ke bnUt upon a defert fpot the imperial city of Pe- terlburgh, containing at prefent iixty thoufand houfesr the refidence of a fpJendid court, whofe amufements are of the moft refined tafte. He built the harbour of Cronftadt, on the Neva, and St Croix, on the frontiers of Perfia ; he ereded forts in the Ukraine, and in Sibe- ria ; eftablifhed offices of admiralty at Archangel, Pc-> terfburgh, Aftracan, and Afoph; founded arfenals, and built and endowed hofpitals. All his own houfes were mean, and executed in a bad tafte ; but he fpared no expence in rendering the public buildings grand and magnificent. The fciences, which in other countries have been the flow product of fo many ages, were, by his care and induftry, imported into Ruffia in full perfedion. He eftablifhed an Academy on the plan of the famous So- cieties of Paris and London. The Delilles, the BuU fingers, the Hermannus's, the Bernouilles, and the ce- lebrated Wolf, a man who excelled in every branch of philofophy, were all invited and brought to Peterft>urgh. at a great expence. This Academy ftill fubfifts ; and the Mufcovites, at length, have philofophers of their own nation. He ♦ A vcrft confift-a o£ 75A V^^^^ KING OF SWErffiN. t^- He obliged the jowi^ nobilit^r to travelTor improTe- mtwett aiMz to bring back icco Rnfiia the pplltenefs of • Ibrdgn coimtri«s. I have royfelf feen jowng Ruffians • "Who were men oi gcmus and fcresce. It was thus thsct a fiAgle man hatfa reformed the grnate A 'empire 1a * chef worla It hy however, ftcrkhig to reflet, that this reformer of mfankkid fbould have bees defieient 1% - that fhrft of all TiTtucs» the virtue- of hiznaaattf. Br»» tality in his pleafures, ferocity -in his manners, and bar- • h^ity ip his revenges, fullied the luftre of his many virtues. He civilized his fubje<5l:Si and yet remained a - baibarian. He wasconfcious of this, and once faid to - d-magillrate of Amfterdam, "I reform my country, - •* but am not able to reform myfelf." He has exe- cuted his fentence upon criminals with his own haiids, and at a debauch^at taUe has fhewa hi^addrefs-At cut- ting off heads. '. In; Africa, there are Princes who ttfls with their own bauds (hed the blood of their fiibje^s ; but thefc pafs for 'barbarians;' The death of a fon, whom he ought to have correded, or difiiiherited, would render the memory of Peter the ohjedk of untvcrfel- hatred, . were it- not that the great and many bleffings he be- (lowed upon his fulij«ds, were ^Imoft fufficiejit to ex- cule his cruelty to his own offspring. Such was Czar Pet/r ; and his great proje7 {otc^« ^\% < 26 HISTORY OF CHARLES Xlt. predecefTors had claims upon Ingria, Efthoni^) and Livonia^ and the prefent feemed a favourable oppor-^ tunity of reviying thofe claims^ which, had been buried for a hundred years» and had been extinguilhed by* treaties. He entered therefore into a league with the King of Poland, to wreft from the young Charles the Twelfth all the territories that lie between the Gulpb of Finlandi the Baltic Sea^ Poland, and Mufcovy. SOQK: KINO OF SWEDEN. ^7 BOOK IL ARGUMINT; A remarkable and uDcipeAed change 19 the chara^er of Cfiarfes* —At the age of eighteen he engages in a War againft Denmark, Poland, and Mufcovy. — Finiihcs that with Denmark in fix weeks.— Befeats' Eighty ThottfaQd RuiBans with only Eight Thoufand Swedes. — Marches into Poland.— A Defcription of Poland axfd Ita Gevemment.— Charles gains many Battles, and ' becomes Mafter of Poland, where he prepares to appoint a King. Thus did tbrce powerful Sovereigns threaten the in- fancy of Charles the Twelfth. The news of thcfe pre- parations difxnayed the Swedes, and alarmed the Coun- cil. All their dtftingnifbed Generals were dead ; and they had every reafon to trenjble tinder the reign of a young King, who had as yet given them but a bad opinion of his abilities. He harcHy ever came to Coun- cil for any other purpofe than to lay his legs acrofs on the table :: abfent and indifferent, he never appeared to intereft himfelf in any thing. . As the Council were oae day deliberating, in !ys prefence, on the dangerous predicament in which they flood, fome of them propofed to avoid the impending temped by negociations \ when the young Prince im- mediately rofe with the grave and afTured air of a man of fuperior abilities, who had fixed his refolution. «* Gentlemen,** faid he, " I am refolved never to be- ** gin an unjuft war, but never to finifti an unjuft one «* but with th€ deftruAion of my enemies. My refo- «* lution is fixed ; I will march and attack the firft who «* fhall declare war ; and when I Ihall have conquered *< him, I hope to ftrike terror into the reft." All the old councillors, aftontfhed at this declaration, looked at each other without daitng to anfwer. In fhort, furprifed at having fuch a King, and alhamed to ap- pear lefs confident than him, they received his orders £or the<>war with admiration. They were ftill more agreeably furprifed, when they beheld Mm reopuoce at once the mo& uvxvoc^ux^tk^I^- i8 HISTORY OF CHARLES XIF. ments of bis youth. From the.firft moment of his •pre'^ paring hfimfelf for the war, he began an entire new eourfe of life, from which he never after^ departed ^ finglc moment. Full of the idea of Alexander and Ca> fer, he determmed to imitate thofe two heroes in every • thing but their rices. He no h>nger indulged himfelf' in magnificence, fports, and recreations ;- and reduccdS his table to the mod rigid frugality. He had :btfore loved pomp in hit. drefs ; but he now drefled himfelf . as a cprfMnon foldier. It was generally fuppofed that he had formed a (Irong attachment to a lady of his court; but whether this fuppofition was true or not»., it is certain that he from that time renounced all fond- nefs for the fex, not ox^ly from the fear ^f being go- verned by them, but to fet an example to Im toldierSf , whom he was dedrous of bringing back to th« moft rigid dtfcipline ; and perhaps, alio, from the vanity of being deemed the only King who cpuld fobdue. a pai^ gon fo difB fence of the queen his mother. E^^cn if tkit be true, this felf-condemnation of his behaviour, and the abfti* nence which he imppfed on himfelf throughout his life» is a fpecics of herdfm not/leis. to be admired.' His firfl ftep was- to grant afitflance to hi& brother- iQ-law the Duke of HolAein. Eight thoufand men were immediately fent into Pomerania,. a province bor- dcring upon- Holftein, to fortify the Duke.againft the attacks of thf^Dancs. And indeed the Duke had need of them. His dominions were laid wafte, his. caftle of Gottorp taken, and the city of Tonningen preiled by *ij ohfkinsLU ficge, to which the King of Denmaii had cpme in petCm^iix order to en^oy a catMC^^ft. <«bkh he . KING OP SWEDEN. 29 imagined certain. This fpark began to throw the Em- pire into a flame. On the one fide, the Saxon troops of the King of Poland, thofe of Brandenburgh, Wolfen- buttle, and HefFe Caflel, advanced to join the Danes. On the other, the eight thoufand men fent by the King of Sweden, the troops of Hanover and Zell, and three regiments of Dutch, came to affift the Duke. At the time the little country of Holftein became thus the theatre of war, two fquadrons, the one from England, and the other from Holland, appeared in the Baltick.^ Thefe two States were guarantees of the treaty of peace of Altena, which treaty the Danes had broken through ; the Englifh and Dutch therefore were in eameft, at this time, to fupport the opprcffed Duke of Holftein, becaufe it was for the intereft of their commerce to check the growing power of the King of Denmark. They knew that the DanHk King, being once mafter of the pafPage of the Sound, would impojfe the moft op- preflive laws on die mercantile nations, as foon as ever he was in a fituation to do it with impunity. This mu- tual intereft has long engaged the Dutch and Englifh to maintain, as much as pofllble, the balance of power between the Northern Princes : they therefore joined the young King of Sweden, who appeared in danger of being cruflied by the combination of fo many ene- mies, and fupported him for the fame reafon that the others attacked him — Becaufe they looked upon him as incapable of defending himfelf. Charkb was amufing himfelf with hunting the bear, when he received the news of the Saxons having made an irruption into Livonia : the manner in which he pra<5lifed this amufement.was as novel as dangerous ; he ufed no other arms than forked fticks, and a fmall net fixed to fome trees ; a bear of an inconceivable fize ran dircdly at the King, who brought it down to the ground, after a long ftruggle, by the aid only of the net and his ftick. It muft be confefled, that, in reflec- ting on fuch adventures, on the perfonal (Irength of King Augu{tus, and the travels of Czar Peter, one 3«y - HISTORY OF CHARLES Xir. would be apt to think we lived in the dajs of Hercu- • les and Thefeus. Charles fet ont on his fir ft campaign the eighth of May, New Style, in the year 1 70c ; when he quitted Stockholm, to which he never after returned. An in- numerable crowd of people accompanied him as far as the port of Carlfcroon, offering up prayers for his fuc- cefs, and with tears exprefiing their admiration. Be- fore he left Sweden, he eftabliflied at Stockholm a Council of Defence, compofed of feveral Senators,- whofc duty it was to take care of every thing that re- garded the navy, the aimy, and the fortifications of the country. The body of the Senate was to regulate- provifionally every thing in the interior part of the kingdom. Having thus eftabliflied a regular mode of adminiftration in his dominions, his mind, divefted o£' every other care, was entirely taken up with the war. His fieet conftfted of three-and-forty ftiips ; that in . which he himfclf ftikd w»§ ?fjll«d " The King Charles,** and was the largeft' dtat had ever been fe'ett^ carryiiig: an hundred and twenty guns. In this fbip Count Piper, his fird Minifter of State, General Renfchild, and the^ Count de Guifcard,. Ambaflador from France to Swe- den, embarked along with him. He joined the fqoa- drons of the allies, when the Danifh fleet declining the combat, gave the three combined fleets an opportunity ©f approaching Copenhagen nigh enough to throw ia- to it feveral (bells. Certain it is that ij: was the King himfelf who then propofed to General Renfchild to make a defcent, and to befiege Copenhagen by land, while k was thus- blocked up by fea. Renfchild was afteniihed at a pro-- pofal which (hewed eqtial marks of fkill and courage in a ]Prince fo young and fo unexperienced. Every thing was immediately prepared for the defcent, and orders given for the embarkation of {iy& thoufand men, who lay upon the coafts of Sweden, and joined the. troops they had on board. The King quitted his large ih\p, and went into a frigate of lefs weight : they then i?e^an by fending off three huudrcd ^ttviadvers, in fmall XING OF SWEDEN. 31 fKallops ; and among thpfc were fome fmall flat-bot- .tomed boats, which carried the fafcines> the chevaux- de-fiize, and the implements of the pioneers ; then fol- lowed five hundred men in other fhallops ; and laftly came the King's chofen (bios of war, together with two £ngli(b and two Dutch frigates, who were to favour the debarkation, under cover of their cannon. Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, is fituated in the Ifle of Zealand, in the midd of a beautiful plain, having the Sound on the north-weft, and the Baltick Sea on the eaft, where the Kjng of Sweden then lay. At this unexpeded movement of the veffels, which threatened a defcent, the inhabitants, confounded by -the inadivity of their own fleet, and by the movements of the SwediQi veflels, waited with terror to fee on what part the ftorm would fall. The Swedifh fleet flopped over againft Humblebeck, about 7 miles from Copen- hagen, at which place the Danes inftantly affembled • their cavah y. Their foot were pofted behind entrench- ments, and all the artillery they could bring up was turned againft the Swedes. The King then quitted his frigate, and got into the firft barge, at the head of his guards ; when the French A-mbaflador ftanding next to him, he faid to him in Latin (for he would never fpeak French), " You have ** nothing, Mr Ambaflador, to do with the Danes: you •** need go no fartlier, ff you pleafe.'* — ** Sire," an- iwcred the Count dc Guifcard, in French, " the King ** xny mafter ordered me to refide with your Majefty ; " I flatter myfelf you will not baniih me your court, •** which was never more brilliant than it is to-day." In faying this, he gave his hand to the King, who leaped into the barge, into which Count Piper and the Axnbaflador immediately followed. They advanced under flielter of the cannon of the Ihtps which favour- ed their landing. The long-boats were as yet but three hundred paces from the ftiore, when Charles, impatient -at their flow motion, threw himfelf from his barge into the fea, fword in hand, having the water above hU ^waift: iusMbiillcrs, the French Ambaffador,\h^o^^tx% 32 HISTORY OF CHARLES XII. and foldiers immediately followed his example, and marched to the (hore, in fpite of a (liowcr of the ene- my's mufquetry. The King, who had never in his life heard a volley of mufkets loaded with ball, -demanded of Major-general Stuart, whom he perceived near him^ what it was that occalioned the whizzing in his ears? *' It is the noife of the mufket-balls that they fire upoA ** you," faid the Major to him. " Good !" replied the King ; " then from henceforward that fhall be ray . ** mufic." At this inftant the Major, who had explain- ed the noife made by the mufket-fhot, received one in his fhoulder ; and a Lieutenant dropt down dead on the other fide of the King. It generally happens that the troops who are attack- ed in their trenches are beaten, becaufe thofe who make the attack always pofTefs an impetuofity, which thofe who merely defend themfelves can never arrive at ; be- fides the waiting the enemy's approach is often an ac- knowledgement of their own weaknefs, and of theit adverfary's fuperiority. The Danilh cavalry and mi- litia, after a feeble refiftance, took to flight. The King, thus become mafter of their entrenchments, fell upon his knees to return thanks to God for this firft fuccefs of his arms. He immediately caufed redoubts to be raifed towards the town, and marked himfelf a place for the encampment. In the mean time he fent back his tranfports to Schonen, a part of Sweden bordering upon Copenhagen, for a reinforcement of nine thou^ fand men. Every thing confpired to favour the vf- vacity of Charles ; thei'e troops were already aflembled on the (hore, and ready to embark ; accordinsjly the next day a favourable wind brought them to him. This tranfportation was efFc(5led in the fight of the Danifli fleet, which did not dare to advance. Copen- hagen, being intimidated, immediately difpatched de- puties to the King, to befeech him not to bombard the town. He received them on horieback at the head of his regiment of guards, and the deputies threw them- /elves on their knees before him. He made the town pay him four hundred thoufaud x\iJL-do\\aA^> ^t^d otdep- KING OF SWEDEN. 33 cd them to bring in all forts of provifions to the campi . for which he promifed faithfully to pay. They carried him the provifions, becaufe it was nece/Fary to obey, although they did not much expedl that the conquer- ors would have fo mnch condefcenfion : the carriers, however, were greatly adonifhed at being paid gene- Toufly, and without delay, by the lowcft foldiers in the army. There had long prevailed among the SwediHi troops a {lri<5t difcipline» which had not a little contri- buted to this-viiSiory ; and the young king increafed its feverity. There was not a foldier that dared to refufe payment for what he bought, ftill lefs to go a-ptundef- ihg, nor even to go out of the camp. He did ftill more, for in a vidory, his troops did not ftrip the dead till they had received his permiflion ; and he eafily brought them ta obferve this law. Prayers were regularly faid in his camp twice a-day, at feven o'clock in the morn- of which -thejr knew the true caufc. KING OF SWEDEN. 35 There remained then nothing more for Charles to <}o» to finifh his fir (I campaign, than to march againil his rival in glory, Peter Alexiowitz. He was the more exafperated againlt him, as there were at that time at Stockholm thiee Mufcovite Ambafladors, who had juft fworn to the renewal of an inviolable peace. He could not comprehend, as he piqued himfelf on a mod rigid integrity, that a legiffator, like the Czar, could makd a jeft of what ought to be fo facred. The young Prince, full of honour himfelf, did not imagine that there could be a fyftem of morality for Kings different from that for individuals. The Emperor of Mufcovy had juft publiihed a manifefto, which he had much better have fupprefTed. He there alledgcd that the reafon of his making war was, that he had not fuflfr- oient honour paid him when he palTed inc9gmto through Riga ; and likewife that they fold their proviiions t, indefatigable^ and perhaps- as Wave as the Swedes ; but time and difcipline alone can render troops warlike and invincible. The only xegiments from which any thing was expef.ed were commanded by German officers, but they were few ia number. The reft were batb:>rians, forced from the forefts, and covered with the fkins of wild hearts ; fome were armed with arro^x's and fome with clubs ; few of them had fufees ; none had feen a regular fiege ; nor was there a good gunner in the whole army, A hun- dred and fifty cannon, which ought to have reduced the little town of Narva to aflies, were fcarcely able to make a breach ; while, on the other hand, the artillery of the city deftroyed at every difcharge whole ranks o£ the enemy in their trenches. Narva was almoft witbr out fortifications ; and the Baron de Hoorn, who com- manded it, had not a thoufand regulars ; and yet this innumerable army could not reduce it in ten weeks. It was the fifteenth of November when the Czar was apprized that the King of Sweden, having croffed- the fea with two hundred tranfports, was upon the march to the relief of Narva. The Swedes were bat twenty thoufand ftrong ; yet the Czar had no fup^riority but in number. Far then from defpifing his enemy, he employed every art he was mafter of to overpower hjm. Not content with eighty thoufand men, he pre- pared another army to oppofe him, and to crofs him KING OF SWEDEN. 37 at every turn. He had already ordered near thirty thoufand men, who advanced by h>ng marches from Ple(kow. He then took a ftep which would have ren- dered him contemptible, if a legiflator who had per- formed fo many great exploits could be made fo. He quitted his cjttnp where his prefence was neceiTary, in queft of this frelft body of men, which might have ar- rived very well without him, and appeared by this be*, havious^ tot be afraid of engaging in an intrenched camp a^ young and unexperienced Prince who might oome to attack him. Bat, be this as it may, he wanted'to inclofe Charles. lietween two armies. This was not all ; thirty thoufand men detached from the camp which lay before Narva, were pofted a league- from the city, on the road along which the King of Sweden was to pals i twenty thou- fand Strelits were placed' a^a greater diftanceon the fame road, and five thoufand others formed an^advan- ced guard. All thefe troops Charles was obliged to march over before he could arrive at the camp, which was fortified with a rampart and a double ditch. The King of Sweden hadlanded at Pern aw, in the Gulph. of Riga, with about fixteen thoufand of his infantry, and a little more than four thoufand horfe. From Pcrnaw he haftened his march to Revel, followed by all his cavalry, and'^nly four thoufand foot. As he , always marched- on firft, without waiting for the rcfl: of his troops, he foon found himfelf, with his^ eight thoufand men oniy, near the advanced pofts of the e- nemy» He did not hefttate a moment about attacking them ; which he did, one after the other, without gjiving them time ta be acquainted with' what a fmall number they had to engage. The Mfifcovites feeing the Swedes thus rnfh upon them, thought they had the whole army to encounter, and the advanced guard of five thoufand meuj who were polled among the rocks, a ftatbn in which one hundred refolute men might have repulfed a whole army, betook themfelves to iBight on the firft approach of the Swedes. The twenty th^afand men who were \>elimd,.fee«v^' ^^€\t £ 3 coTC^-accikSAV- $8 HISTORY OF CHARLES XIL companions Bjy took the alarm) and earned diforder with them into the camp. All the* pods were carried in two days ; and what upon other occafions would^ have beea counted for three vi^ories, did not retard the march- of the King a fingle hour. At lad he ap^ peared, with his eight thoufand men» fatigued with fo long a match, before a camp of eighty thvufand Mui^ covites, defended by one hundred and fifty pieces o£ cannon ; and fcarcely had ihe troops taken a (hort r«« pofe, when without deliberating he gave orders for the attack. The fignal was two fufees, and the word in German^. ^ With the aid of God." A General Officer having reprefentcd to him ihe greatnefs of the danger, " Why t «* do you imagine," faid he to hiro^. ** that with my " eight thoufand brave Swedes, I (hall not be able to " march over the bodies of eighty thoufand Mufco- « vites ?" A moment after, fearing that there appear- ed a little gafconade in thefe words, he run after tha Officer himfelf: "Are you not then of, my opinion ?"> faid he to him : " Have I not a double advantage over/ <« my enemies ? the one,. that their cavalry can do them.- " no fervice ; and the other, that the place being nar-, " row, their gieat nutnber will but incommode tnem y *< and therefore I ihall in reality be ftronger than they.*' The Officer did not dare to be of a different opinion ;. and they marched againft the Mufcovites, about midr day, on the loth of November 1.700. As foon as the cannon of the Swedes had made a^ breach in their intrenchments, they advanced with their bayonets fixed on their fufees, having at their backs a, furious (hower of fnow, which came in the face of the enemy. The Ruffians ftood their ground for half an- hour, without quitting their fide ofthe trenches. The^ King made his attack upon the right of the camp, where the quarters of the Czar were, hoping to en- counter him, not knowing that the Emperor himfeir was gone to feek the forty thoufand men who were ex« pe&td every moment to arrive. At the firft difcharge iff the caiemy's muiketS) the K.mg received a Ihot ia KING OP SWEDEN- S9 his neck ; bat it being a fpent ball, it lodged in the plaits of his black cravat» and did him no harm. His horfe was killed under him. M. de Spart told me, that the King fprung nimbly upon another hotfe, faf^ ing> '* Thefe gentry here make me do my exercife ;" and continued fighting and giving orders with the fame prefence of mind* After three hours engagement, the Uitrenchments weie forced on every fide. The King followed the right of the enemy as far as the river Narva with his left wing, if about four tboufand men wha were purfuing near forty thoufand can be fo caPed. Tlie bridge breaking under the fugitives, the river was in a moment .filled with the dead. The others, defpe- rate, returned to their camp, without knowing where they went ; they there found fome barracks, behind which they polled themfelves. There they defended themfelves for fonoe time, not being able to make theic efcape, but at laft their Generals JDolgorouky, Gollcf- kin, and F^derowitl, came and furrendeied themfelves to the King, and laid their arms at his fecU At the fame time arrived the Duke de Croi, General of the army^ who likewife furrendcrod hiihfelf, with thirty Officers^ Charles recciv.ed all thefe prifoners of diftindion with as much politenefs, and in as friendly a manner, as if be had been paying them the honours of an entertaio. vaent in his own court. He detained none but the Ge- Berals. All the fubaltern o&ers and foldiers were conduced, unarmed, as far as the riyer Narva ; and were there furnill\ed with boats, that they might pafs over to their own country. In the mean time night approached, and the Muscovites on the right dill con- tinded fighting. The Swedes had not loft fifteen hun- dred men ; while eighteen thoufand Mufcovites had been killed in their intrenchments, a great number drowned, and many had pafled the river ; yet there dill remained a fufficient number in the camp to have, entirely deft^yed the Swedes. But it is not the num- ber of the dead, it is the terror of the furvivors that eccafions the lofs of battles. The King took tba -aA- vantage of the fmaU part of the da^ 0;i&t i«xii'd[\ti^^> x^ 40 HISTORY OF CHARLES Xlf. fcize the enemy's artillery. He poAed himfelf advan- tageous y between their camp and the town, where he flept fome hours on the ground, wrapped up in his cloak, waiting for day-break, that he might fall on the enemy's left wing, which was not yet entirely roated. But at two o'clock in the morning. General Wade, who commanded that wing, having heard of the gra*- cious reception the King had given to the other Gene- rals, and in what manner he had difmiffed all^ the Tub* altern officers and foldiers, fent to befeeck the fame fa- vour. The conqueror told him, that he had nothing^ to do but to approach at the head of bis army, and lay down his arms and colours at his feet. Accord- ingly this General foon after appeared with his MoT- covites, who were about thirty thoufand in number. They marched uncovered, foldiers- and officers, throug!b lefs than ieven thoufand Swedes. The foldiers, in pal^ -fing before the King, threw their gnns and fwords n- ' pon the ground, and the officers laid their enfigns. and colours at his feet. He caufed the whole of thfs multitude to be conduced over the river, without de- taining a fingle foldier prifoner. If he had' kept them, the number of the prifoners would have been at leaft: fiye times greater than that of the conquerors. He then entered victorious into Narva, accompanied ' by the Duke de Croi, and other General Officers of the Mufcovites. He caufed tlieir /words to be returned them ; and knowing tlwt they wanted money, and that the merchants of Narva would not lend them any, he fent a thoufand ducat* to the Duke de Croi, and five bundled to each of the Mufcovite Officers ; who could not ceafe admiring this treatment, of which they had^ not even an idea. A relation of the vi<^ory was im- mediately drawn up t© fend to Stockholm, said to the allies of Sweden ; but the King flruck out with his own hand every thing with appeared- too much- in praife of himfelf, and to reflet on the Czar. His mo- deft y could not, however, prevent them from flriking, ^t Stcckholnif feveral medals, to perpetuate the me- -5:0/7 ofthoik events*. Aiiwong QXhit^ xSas^ fttuck one KING or SWEDEN. 4* ^htch reprefented the King, on one fide, ftandmg on a pedeftaU to which were chained a Mufcovite, a Dane* and a Pole ; on the other fide was a Hercules, armed with his club, haying under his feet a Cerberus, with this infer iption : Tres uno contrudit i^u. Among the prifoners taken at the battle of Narva, there was one who exhibited a ftriking inftance of the revolutions of fortune : he was the eldeft fon and heir of the King of Georgia 5 he was called the Czarafis Artfchelou. This title of Czarafis fignifies a Prince, or fon of tlie Czar, among the Tartars, as well as m Mufcovy ; for the word Czar, or Tfar, meant a King among the ancient Scythians, from whom all thefc people are defcended, and is not derived from the Cz- fars of R6me, fo long unknown to thefc barbarians. His father Mitelleiki, Czar, and mailer of the moft beautiful part of the country which lies between the mountains of Ararat and the eafiern coafis of the Black Sea, had been driven from his throne by his own fub- jeds in 1 688, and had chofen rather to throw himfelf into ihe arms of the Emperor of Mufcovy, than have recourfe to the Turks. The fon of this King, at the age of nineteen, defired to follow Peter the Great in his expedition againfl the Swedes, and was taken fight- ing by fome Finland foldieis, who had already ftripped him, and were going to kill him, when Count Renf- ehild refcued him from their hands, clothed him, and prefented him to his mafter. Chailet fent him to Stock- holm,' where this unhappy Prince died in a few years after. The King, on feeing hiAi depart, could not help making, in the hearing of his Officers, a natural refledion on the ftrange deftiny of an Afiatic Princc> born at the fodt of Mount Caucafas, going to live a captive among the fnows of Sweden. " It is," fays he, *• as if I were one day to be a pi ifoner among the ** Tartars of the Crimea." Thefe words made no ira- prefiion at the time ; but in the fequel they were re- fnembered too well, when an event turned them into a prediftion. The Czar was advancing by long marches with th^ 42 HISTORY OF CHARLES XII. army of forty thoufand Ruffians, thinking to farrotind his enemy on all (ides; when he heard, before he had pt-oceeded half way, of -the battle of Narva, and the difperfion of his whole camp. He was not fo obdinate as to think of attacking with his forty thoufand meni without experience or difcipline, a conqueror who had juft deftroyed eighty thoufand men in their intrench^ ments. He returned upon his footfteps, and purfued without ceafing the defign of difcipltning his troops, at the fame time that he civilized his fubje(as. " I know '* very well," faid he, " the Swedes will beat us for a " long time, but in the end they themfelves will teach " us to beat them." Mofcow, his capital, was in ter- ror and confufion at this defeat. Nay, fuch was the jiridc and ignorance of this people, that they imagined they had beea conquered by a power more than hu* man, and that the Swedes were real magicians. Thl^ opinion was fo general, that public prayers were or* dered to be put up on this occafion to St Nicholas,, patron of Mufcovy. This prayer is too fmgular not* to be repeated. It is as follows : " O thou, who art our perpetual confoler in all our " adverfities, gi eat St Nicholas, infinitely powerful, by •* what fin have we offended thee in our facrifices^ ** kneelings, bowings, and thankfgivings, that thou haflt •* thus abandoned us ? We have implored thy affiftance " againft thefe teirible infolent, enraged, dreadful, andf " unconquerable dedroyers, when like lions and bears ** who have loft their young, they have attacked us, ** terrified, wounded and killed by thoufands us thy " people. As it is impoflible that this can be without «* ibrcery and inchantment, we befeech thee, O great " St Nicholas, to be our champion and our ftandard* " bearer, to deliver us from this tiibe of forcerers, and '• to drive them far from our frontiers, with the re-^ •* com pence that is their due." In the mean time that the Mufcovites were com- plaining to St Nfcholas of their defeat, Charles XII. returned thanks to God, and prepared himfelf for new r/when he entered ^s conqueror the town of Birzen, where the King of Poland and the Czar had confpired -againft him fome months before. It was in this place that he firft conceived the defign of dethroning the King of Poland, by the hands of the Poles themfelves. Being one day at table, his mind entirely taken up with this enterprize, and nbferving his ufual temperance of diet, he was wrapped in pro- found filence, and feemed abfbrbed in tlie gieatnefs of his conceptions, when a German Colonel, who was prefent at dinner, obferved, loud enough to be heard, that the r«paft which the Czar and the Kingol ?oVaxv^ F V-2,(i 46 HISTORY of CHARLES XIl -had made in the fame place, was fomewhat differeift from that of his Majeftf. " Yes," faid the King, lifing, •** and I (hall the more eafily fpoil their digeftion*' In •ihort, intermixing a little policy with the force of his ^rms, he did not delay to prepare the event which he had meditated. . Poland, a part of the ancient Sarmatia, is a little larger than France, but kfs populous, though it is more fo than Sweden. Its inhabitants were convert- ed to Chriftianity only about feven hundred and fifty years ago. It is very fmgular that the language of the Romans, who never penetrated into this country, ■ is at this time fpoken no where in common but in Po- land ; there every-body fpeaks Latin, even among the very fervants. This extenfive country is very fertile; and the people are confequently lefs indudrious. The artifts and traders you meet with in Poland, are Scots, ' French, Jews, who buy at a low price com, cattle, and the diflPerent commodities of the country ; thefe they difpofe of at Dantzick and in Germany, and fell ^ to the nobles at a high price, to gratify the only fpe- ,cies of luxury which they know and love. Thus this, country, watered with the moft beautiful rivers, rich in p^ftures, in fait mines, and covered with luxuriant crops, remains poor in fpite of its plenty, becaufe the people are flaves, and the nobility are proud and in- . dolent. Its government is the moft perfeft model of the an* cient government of the Goths and Celtac, which has : been corrected or altered every-where elfe. It is the only State that has preferved the name of a Republic with the Royal dignity. Every gentleman has a right to give his vote in the eleiStion of a King ; and may even be eleded himfelf. This moft eftlmable right is attended with the greateft abufes ; the throne is almoft always put up to auction; and as a Pole is feldom rich enough to buy it, it has been often fold to ftrangers. The nobility and clergy defend their rights againft the King, and deprive the left of the nation of theirs. A\\ \lv^ pto^^^ are flaves; KING OF SWEDEN." 47 fiacK is the deftiny of men, that the greater number are cvery-where, by fome means or other, fubjeftcd to the lefs. lliere the peafant Tows not for hhhfelf, but for lyis lord ; to whom hhnfelf^ his lands, and the labour • of his hands belong, and who can fell him, or cut hij . daifoat, as he would the bead in his 6eld. All who are gentlemen are independent. There mud be an af- fembly of the* whole nation to try him in a criminal caufe ; and as he cannot be fetzed till he is condemned, he is hardly ever punifhed. There rs a great number of poor : thefe engage in the fervices of the moft pow- erful, receive a falary^ and do the meaneft offices for it. They like better to fcrve even their equals than to enrich themfelves by commerce, and as they drefs their xnafters horfes give themfelves the tide of eledors of Kings, and deftroyers of Tyrants. Whoever fees the King of Poland in the pomp of royal majefty, would believe him the moft abfohite Prince in Europe ; he is, however, the lea ft fo. The Fbles really make that contra^ with^him, which in o- ther nations is mere fuppofition between the King and. his fabjedls. The King of Poland, even at his confe- cration, and in fwearing to the pa^a cotwenta^ abfolves his fubje^s from the bath of obedience, in cafe he vio- lates the laws of the Republic. He fills up all offices, and confers all honours. No- thing is hereditary in Poland but the land, and the rank of the nobility. The fon of a Palatine, or of the King, has no right to the dignities of his father ; but there is this great difference between the King and the Republic, that the former can take away no office af- ter he has given it ; while the Republic may take away the crown from him if he tranfgrefles the laws of the State. The nobility, jealous of their liberty^ often fell their votes, but feldom their affedlions. Scarcely have they eleded a King, but, fearing his ambition, they oppofe him by their cabals. The grandees whom he hns made, and whom he cannot unmake, often become his CDemies, wHend of remaining his crcataicsv TYvc^l"^ F 2 -i^V^ 49 HISTORY of CHARLES XII. who arc attached to the coort are objeAs of hatred' ta the reft of the nobility : this always forms two parties i. an unavoidable dm(ion« and even neceflary in thc^ cotmfries where they will chafe at the fame time to have Kings, and to preferve their liberties. Whatever concerns the nation is regulated in the States-General, which they call Diets. Thefc States, are compofed of the body of the Senate, and of fcveral gentlemen. The Senators are the Palatines and the Bifhops : the fecond order is compofed of the Depattes of the particular Diets of each Palatinate. At tbeie great aCemblies, the Archbiihop of Gnefna, Primate of Poland^ and Viceroy of the Kingdom during the tnterregntmi, prefides, and is the firft man of the State^ next to the King. There is feldom any orficr Cardt« nal in Poland but him ; becaufe the Roman purple giving no precedence in the Senate, a Difhop who (hall be a Cardinal, will be obliged either to take his rank as Senator, or renounce the folid rights of the dignit|!^ of his own country, to fuppoxt the pretenfions of a for. reign honour. Thcfe Diets, by the laws of the Kingdom, ought to- be held alternately in Poland and Livonia. The De- puties often decide their bufinefs fword in hand, in the fame manner as the ancient Sarmatiaiis from whom they are defcended, and fometiraes even in liquor, a vice of which the Sarmatians were ignorant. Every gentleman deputed to the States-General enjoys the fame right which the Tribune of the People at Rome had, of oppofing the laws of the Senate. Any one gentleman who fays " I proteft," ftops by that fingle^ word the unanimous refolutions of all the reft ; and if he leaves the place where the Diet is held, the aflembly is difTolved. lliey apply to the diforders which arife from this law, a remedy more dangerous than the difeafe. Po- land is feldom without two fadions : unanimity in their Diets, therefore, being impoGible, each party forms Confederacies, in which they decide by the plurality of voices, without paying atvy Tt^-xi^X-o xlsa^ ^\^\.^^%o£ KING OF SWEDEN. 49 the minority. Tbefc a(iemblies» not warranted by law, but authorized by cuilom, are held in the name of ihc King, though often without his confent, and againil: his intereft ; fomething in the manner in which the League in France made ufe of the name of Henry III. to ruin him ; and as the Parliament of England which brought Charles I. to the block, began by placing that Prince's name to all the refoluticns which they took to doftroy him. When the commotions arc finith'ed, it is the part of the General* Diets to confirm or quafti the a£ts of thefe Confederacies.. A Diet can even alter every thing that has been done at preceding ones ; for the fame remfon that in monarchical .oountries a King can aboliift the'laws of his predeceffor, and cf^enhis own. The tiobility, who make the laws of the. Republic, conftitute its ftrengtlr alfo*^^ The^r appear on horfebaclc UMfi^any great occafion, and are able to ^rm a body ot-aboVe a hundred thoufend tncn. This great army^ CaHed' the .Pof^litei moves with difficulty, and is ill- goveriied.:^; tlie difficulty of obtaining provifion and . K)tage j&akesit impoffible.for it to continue long af^ fembled-i :it has neither difcipline, fubordination, nor expetteikce;^ but the love of liberty which animates it Tenders.jt slvrays- fonnidable. Thefe oeUe^ may be conqueredy or difperfed, or even held 10 flaneryfor a time, but they foon fhake off the yoke; indeed they compare themfelves to the reed, " which the wind-vbends to the ground, but which -rifes again as foon as the wind ceafes to blow. It is for this rcafon- that'. they have no places of ftrength : they will have thtmfelves to be the only bulwark of the Re^ public; norwill 4hey fuffer their King to build any forts, for fear he fhould make urex)f them more to op. prefs than to defend them. Their country is of courle entirely open, except two or three frontier towns. If in a war,, either civtt or foreign, they refolve to fuA tain a fiege, they are obliged to raife foitifications of earth, repair the old walls that are half ruined, and en- large their ditches that are almod filled up, fo that the F 3 \S5H4^ 50 HISTORY OF CHARLES XIF, . town is generally taken before the mtrenchments are* completed. The Pofpolite are not always on horfeback to defend, the country ; they never mount but by the order of the Diets, though fometimes, in extreme dangers, by the fimple order of the King. The ordinary guard of Poland is- an army, which ought always to be maintained at the expcnce of the Republic. It is compofed of two corps, under the command of two different commanders in chief. The firft corps is that of Poland, and ought to confift of thirty.fix thoufand men : the fecond, to the number of. twelve thoufand, is that of Lithuania. 'J^he two Ge- nerals are independent tlie one of the other; and though they are nominated by the King, they are ac- countable to nobody for their aftions but the Republic, and have an unlimited authority over their troops. The Colonels are abfolute mafters of their regiments ;. and it belongs to them to maintain and pay the foldi- ery as they arc able ; but being feldom paid themfelves, they ravage the country, and ruin the peafants, to fa-- tisfy their own avidity, and that of their foldiers. The Polifh lords appear in thefe armies with more magni- ficence than they do in the towns ; and their tents are more ornamented than their houfes. The cavalry,, which makes up two-thirds of the army, is compofed cf gentlemen ; and is remarkable for the beauty of their horfes, and the richnefs of their harnefs and ac- coutrements. The gendarmes in particular, whom they diftinguifh, into Huffars and Pancerncs, never march without be- ing accompanied by feveral valets, who hold their hor- fes, which are adorned with plates and nails of filver> embroidered faddles, faddle-bovvs and gilt-ftirrups, and fometimes of roaffy filver, together with large houfings trailing after the manner of the Turks, the magnifi* cence of whom the Poles imitate as much as poffible. In the fame degree that the cavalry is fine and fu- ^erb, the infantry was then proportionably wretched v MJ'Clothcdi unarmedj 'withQMireg^m^TiX^\^> qx ?ccq ^^u^ KING OF SWEDEN. 5» unlforiK. It was fo at lea ft till about the year lyio^ Thefe infantry, who rcfcmble wandering Taitars, fup* , ported with an aftoniftiing fortitude hunger, cold, fa- tigue, and all the bardftiips of war. One may fee in the PolKh f<)ldiers the (^aradler of the ancient Sarmatians their anceftors, the fame want of difciplme, the fame fury to attack, the iame readi- ncfs to Hy from aiid to return to the attaclg and like- wife the fame difpoiition to flaughter when ihcy are conqueiors. The King of Poland flattered himfelf at firO, that in cafe of neceffity thefe two armies would fight in his favour ; that the Polilh Pofpolite would arm themfclves at his orders ; and that all thefe forces, joined to the * Saxons his fubjc6ts, and to the Mufcovites his allies,. would form a multitude before which the {inall num- ber of the Swedes would not dare to appear. But he faw himfclf almoft at once deprived of thefe fuccours,. by meaiis of that very eagcmefs which lie had Ihewn to have them all at once. Accoftomed in h's hereditary domirrions to abfolute power, he imagined too fondly that he might govern in Poland as he did in Saxony. The beginning of his reign made malcontents ; and his firft proceedings irri- tated the party who had oppofed his eledion, and alie^ aated almoft all the reft. Ihe Poles murmured to fee their towns tilled with Saxon garrifons, and their fron- tiers lined with troops. This nation, much more jea- lous of maintaining its liberty than anxious to attack its neighbours, did not regard the war of King Au- guftus againft the Swedes, and the irruption into Li- vonia, as an enterprize advantageous to the Republic. It is difficult to deceive a fiee people refpe<5ting its true^ intereft. The Poles knew, that if this war, undertaken without their con Tent, Ihould prove unfuccefsful, their country, open on every fide, would become a prey to the King of Sweden ; and that if it was fuccefsful, they would be enflaved by their own King ; who, being then mafter of Livonia and Saxony, would (liut up Poland httwcea thek wo States^. Ia thks ^X&til^Xv^i^) ^\>^^^x 521 HISTORY OF CHARl^S XIL to bj2 (laves of the Kin gf whom they had ele was the Cardinal Radziejoufky, Archbilhop of Gnefna,. Prinmte of the kingdom, and Prelident of the Diet He was a man full of artifice and niydery in his con- duct, entirely governed by an ambitious woman, whom: tlie Swedes called Madame Cardinal^ and who never ceafed engaging him in intrigue and fadlion. The ta- lent of the Primate confided, as we are told, in making ufe of cireumfiances, without feeking to give birth to them. He appeared often to be irrefolute, for who is not ib in a civil war \ King John Sobiefky, the prede* ceflbr of Auguftus, had firft made him Bi(hop of War«- xnia, and Vice-chancellor of the kingdom. Radzie- joufky, being yet but a Bifhop, had obtained the Car- dinalfhip by ihs favour of the fame king. This dignity foon opened his way to that of Primate : thus uniting in his own per ion every thing to impofe upon mankind, he wa$ in a ftate to undertake any thing with impunity. He tried his credit, after the death of John, to place ihe Prince Jiimes Sobiefky on the throne ; but the tor- rent of hatred which the father had incurred, ibougb a truly great man, overwhelmed his fon. After this, the Caidinal Primate joined the Abbe de Polignac^ AmbafTador of France, to give the crown to the Prince of CoiJt/, v.'ho was m effeft eUded. TSmX. Tcvoit.^^ *^^\ 54 HISTORY ot CHARLES Xltr Saxon troops triumphed over his negociations. He {uV fcred himfelf at laft to be drawn over to the party thatc. crowned the Eledlor of Saxony, and waited wi^ pa- tience for an opportunity of making a divition between' the nation and this new King. The vidories of Charles XII. protedor of Prince James Sobiefky, the civil war in Lithuania, and the* general alienation of men*s minds from King Augui^' tus, made the Cardinal Primate believe that the time was arrived when he might fend Auguftas-into Saxony, a«d open King John's fon the way to the throne. This prince, formerly the innocent obje<5l of the hatred of^ the Poles, had begun to engage their affections from the time of their hatred to King Auguftus; but he durfb not as yet conceive an idea of fo great a revolution, of which the Cardinal Was infenfibly laying the foundation.* At firft he feemed to wifti to reconcile the King and' the Republic ; he fent circular letters dilated, m ap* pearance, by the fpirit of concord and charity 5 com-, mon and well-known fnares, but with which men arc always caught. He wrote an affe<5Hng letter to the King of Sweden, conjuring him, in the name of Him- whom all Chriftians equally adored, to give peace to Poland and her King. Charles XII. anfwered the in- tenti<^ns of the Cardinal rather than his words. In the mean time he remained in the Great Duchy of Lithu- ania ^vith his vi<5lbrious army, declaring that he would* not difturb the Diet ; that he made war againft Auguf- tus and the Saxons, and not againft the Poies; and. that fo far from attacking the Republic, he came to re- lieve it from oppreffion. Thefe letters and thefe an- fwers were intended for the public. The emiffaries that were continually going and coming between the Cardinal and Count Piper, and the fecret afTemblies at the prelate's houfe, were the fprings that regulated the motions of the Diet : they propofed to fend an Ambaf- fador to Charles- XII. and unanlmoufly demanded of the King, that he would call no more Mufcovites to Jir's frontkrSf and that he Ihould alfo fend back his Sax- ,en troops. KING OF SWEDEN. 55 The bad fortune of Auguftus had already done what nhe Diet required of him. The league fecretly con- cluded at Birzen with the Mufcovites, was now be- come as ufelefs, as it had at firft appeared formidable. He was far from being able to fend to the Czar the 'fifty thoufand Germans he had promifed to riiife in the Empire. Even the Czar, a dangerous neighbour of 'Poland, was in no hade to aflift with all his force a di- vided- kingdom, from whofe misfortunes he hoped to reap fome advantage He contented hlmfclf with fend- ing twenty thoufand Mufeovites into Lithuania, who did more mifchief than the Swedes, flying every where before the-conqueror, and ravaging the lands of the Poles, till at laft, being purfued by the Swedifh Gene- rals, and finding nothing more to pillage, they return- ed in bodies to their own country. With regard to the ihattered remains of the Saxon armies beaten at Riga, Auguftus fent them to winter and recruit in Saxony, to 3ie end that this facrifice, involimtary as it was, might regain him the aflPe^Jons of the iiritated Poles. The war was now turning into intrigues. The Diet was divided into almoft as many fadions as there were Palatines. One day the interefts of ICing Augudus prevailed, the next they were profcribed. Every one cried out for liberty and juftice ; but no one knew what it was either to be free or juft. Tlie time was loft by caballing in private and haranguing in public. T^e Diet knew neither what they wanted, nor whit "they ought to do. Great aifemblies have hardly ever taken right counfel in civil broils ; becaufe the moft courageous amongft them are engaged in the fedition, and the well-difpofed are generally a prey to their fears. The Diet diffolved in tumult the 1 7th of February, in •the year r702, after three months of cabals and irrefo- lution. The Senators, who are the Palatines and Bi- ihops, remained at Warfaw. The Senate of Poland . has a right to make laws provifionally, which the Diets feldom difannul. This body being lefs numerous, and accuftomed to bufmefs, was far lefs tumultuous, and decided with ^rcaterdi/patch. 56 HISTORY of CHARLES XII. They decreed, that they (htmild fend to the King of Sweden the embaflv propofed in the Diet ; that the Pof- polite (hould mount tlleir horfes, and hold theinfelves in readinefs at all events : they mndc feveral regular tions to appeafe the troubles in Lithuania* and (lill more to lefien the authority of their King, which was jDore to be feared than that of Charles. Auguftus chofe rather at that time to receive hard laws from his conqueror than from his fubjeds. He determined to fue lor a peace to the King of Sweden* and wanted to make a fecret treaty with him. It was neceflary to conceal this ftep from the Senate, whom he regarded as an enemy ftill more untradbible than Charles. This was a delicate affair ; he entrufted it to the Countefs of Konigfmark, a Swedilh lady of high birth* and to whom he was at that time attached. This lady, celebrated in the world for her wit and beauty, was more capable than any minifter to bring a negociation to a happy conclufion. Moreover as Ihc had an eftate in the dominions of Charles XII. and had lived a long time in his court, fhe had a plaufible pre- text to feek this prince. She therefore went to the Swedilh camp i^ Lithuania, and addreffed herfelf di- reflly lo Count Piper, who too haftily piomifed her an audience with his mafter. ' The Countefs, among tho£e perfections which rendered her one of the moft amiable perfons in Europe, had the Angular talent of fpeaking the languages of feveral countries which (he had never feen, with as much elegance as if fhe had been born there ; (he even amufed herfelf fometimes in writing French verfes, which might have been miftaken for the produdion of a pexfon born at Verfailles. Thofe ih^ compofed for Charles XII. hiltory ought not to omit. She introduced the heathen gods praifmg the different virtues of Charles. The piece concluded thus : Enfin chacun des Dieux difcourant a fa gloire, Le pla9oit par avance au Temple de Memoire; Mais Venus ni Bacchus n'en dirent pas un mot. Nay, all the Gods to found his fame combine> Except the Deities of lo^^ axid ^'m^. KING OF SWEDEN. 57 All her wit and beauty were, however, thrown a- way upon a man like the King of Sweden, who con- • ftantly refufed to fee her. She therefore rcfolved to throw herfelf in his way as he rode out to take the air, ^hich he frequently did. She one day met him in a narrow path ; (he defcended from her cai riage as foon as file perceived him ; the King made her a low bow, turned his horfe about, and rode back in an inftant ; fo that the only advantage which the Countefs of Ko- nigfmark gained from her joarney, was the fatisfadion of believing that the King of Sweden feared nobody but her. The King of Poland was now obliged to throw him- felf into the arms of the Senate. He therefore made them two propofals, by the Palatine of Marienburgh; the one> that they fhould leave to him the difpofition of the army of the Republic, to whom he would pay, out of his own revenue, two quarters advance ; the other, that they (hould permit him to bring back twelve thouilmd Saxons into Poland. The Cardinal Primate returned him an anfwer as fevere as the refufal of the King of Sweden. He told the Palatine of Ma- rienburgh, in the name of the affembly, " that they *» had refolved to fend anembafly to Charles XII. and ^* that he would not advife him to bring back any ♦« Saxons." The King, in this extremity, wifhed to preferve the appearance at leaft of royal authority. He fent one of his chamberlains, on his own part, to wait upon Charles, to know from him, where and how his Swe- difli Majefty would be pleafed to receive the embafly of his Matter and the Republic Unluckily they had foigot to aik a paflport from the Swedes for this •chamberlain ; the King of Sweden therefore, in (lead of giving him audience, caufed him to be thrown into >priS)n, faying, " that he expeded an embafTy from " the Republic, and not from Auguftus." This vio- lation of the right of nations no law but that of a fu- f>erior force could excufe. Afterwards Charles, having left behind lv\m ^^t\\- G ^Q^X'5. 58 HISTORY of CHARLES XII. Tons in Several towns m Litnaania, advanced f>eyot)d Grodno, a town well known in Europe for tiic Diets that are held there*, but ill built, and badly fortified. A few Hiiles on die other fide Grodno be encoanter* ed the embafly of the Republic : it was compofed of five Senators. They dedred in the firft place to regu- late the ceremony of their intf odudion, a .thing the King was unacquainted with: they then 'denumded that the Republic fhould be ftiled ** moft fercne," and that the coaches of the King and the Senators fhould be fent to meet them. They were anfwered, diat the Republic fhould be ftiled ** illuftrious," and not ^ moft ** ferene," and tbat the King never made ufe of car- riages ; that he had many Officers about him, but no Senators : that a Lieutenant-general fhould be feat to meet them, and that they fhould come on their which was difperfed before it was conquered. The Swedes did not take niore than a thoufand prifoners» nor kill more than fix hundred ; having more difficult ty to purfue than to defeat them. Auguflus having nothing but the remains of bis Saxons, who were beaten on every fide, retired in hafte to Thorn, zn ancient town of Royal Pruifia, fituated on the Yiftula, and under the proteftion of the Poles. Charles immediately prepared to befiege it ; and the King of Poland, who did not think himfelf fccure, re- tired, and fkw into every corner of Poland where he could poffibly a^mble any foldiers, and into which the Swedes had not penetrated. In the mean timcj Charles, amidfl fo many rapid marches, fwimming a- crofs rivers, and hurried along with his infantry rftount- ed behind his cavalry, had not been able to bring up his cannon before Thorn, and was obliged to wait till it came from Sweden by fea. While he was pofled here, a few miles from the town, he would often advance too nigh the ramparts, for the purpofe of reconnoitring the enemy. The plain drefs which he always wore, was, in thefe dangerous excarfions, of more utility than he was aware of; as it prevented his being remarked and fmgled out by his enemies, who would have fired upon his perfon. One day, having advanced too near, with one of his Gene- rals*, named Lieven, who was drefTed in a blue coat trimmed with gold, and being afraid that the General would be too eafily diilinguifhed, he ordered him to walk behind him ; prompted to it by that magnanimi- ty which was fo natural to him, and which prevented him from refledling, that he expcfed his own life to imminent danger to fave that of his fubjeft. Lieven faw too late the error of putting on a remarkable drefs, which endangered all thofe who were near him ; and fearing equally for. the King in any place whatever, hefitat^d * In the firft editions it was faid that this General was in fcarlet> but the Chaplain Norberg has fo well proved that h« \ua.v(aYta^ij^ blue, that we have corre(Sted tliis error. 66 HISTORY of CHARLES XIL betitated whether he (Kould obey : in the midft of thiscoit» teAi, the king took him by the arm, and placing^urofelf before him, entirely fcieened hiro; bntat this inftant, a volley of cannon, which came in flank, ftruck die Ge- neral dead, on the fpot which tbe King had fcarcely quitted. The death of this man, killed exadly in his dead, and becanfe he had endearoured to fave him* contributed ^not a little to confirm him^ in the opinionf which he entertained throughout his life, of an abfo* late predeftination ; and made him believe, that his fate, which had preferred him in fo fingular a manner, had referred him for the execution of yet greater thmgs. Every thing fucceeded with him : his negociattons and his arms were equally Ii-^npy. He was prefent, a& k were, in every part of Poland $ for his grand Mare- ifchal Renfcbild was in the heart of the kingdcmi. wkh a large body of troops ; about thirty thoii£uid Swedes, under different Generals, fpread to the nordi and eaft over the frontiers of Mufcovy, withftood the efforts of the whole Ruffian empire ; and Charles himfelf was in the weft, at the other end of Poland, at the head of his choiceft troops. The King of Denmark, tied up by the treaty of Tra- vendal, which his weaknefs had prevented lum from breaking, remained (ilent. This Monarch, always pru- dent, did not dare to difcover his difguft at feeing the King of Sweden fo near his dominions. At a greater dii^ance towards the fouth-weft lay the Duchy of Bre- men, between the rivers Elbe and Wefer, the moft re- mote territory of the ancient Swedifh conquefts, filled with ftrong garrifons, and opening to the conqueror a free paflage into Saacony and the Empire, Thus, from the German ocean almoft to the mouth of the Boridhe- nes, comprehending the whole breadth of Europe, and even to the gates of Mofcow, all was in conftemation, and on the point of a general revolution. His. (hips, m afters of the Baltick fea, were employed to tranfport into Sweden the prifoners he had made in Poland. Swe- den, tranquil in the midft of thefe great commotions, enjoyed sl pro/bund peace, aud (h^iTed in the glory of its KINO OF SWEDEN. 67 'Khg, "witboiA bearing the burdens of war, as the vie- torious troops; were paid and maintained at theexpence of the conquered. In this general filence of the North be/ore die arms of Charles XII. the town of Dantzick dared to difpleafe him. Fourteen frigates and forty tranfports were bring- ing the Kii^ a reinforcement of (ix thoufand men, wiui cannon and ammumtion, to begin the ieige of Thorn. It was neccflary for thefe fuccours to pafs the Viftula. At the mouth of this river is Dantzick, a free and weaidiy town, which enjoys, with Thorn and Elbing, the fame privileges in Poland that the Imperial towns poi&fs in Germany. Its liberty has been alternately attacked by the Danes, the Swedes, and feveral Prin- ces of Germany, and nothing has prefer ved it but the mutual jcaloufy of thofe Powers. Count Steinbock, one of the Swedifh Generals, aiTembled the Magif^rates in the King's name, and demanded paflage for the ' troops and ammunition. The Magiftrates, with an • imprudence cosmnoH to thofe who treat with a fuperi- or power, were afraid either to refufe, or abfolutely ; to grant his requeft. The General, however, obliged them to grant him more thaniie had at firft demand- 1- cd ; and even laid the town under a contribution of a ' hundred thoufand crowns, by which means he made ^ them pay for their imprudent hefitation. At laft the - reinforcement, cannon and ammunition, having arri- ' ved before Thorn, they began the fiege the 2 2d of ^ September. Robel, governor of this place, defended it for a ' month with a garrifbn of five thoufand men ; at the end of which time he was obliged to furrender at dif- cretion. The garrifon was made prifoncrs of war, and ient into Sweden. Robel was prefented to the King difarmed. That Prince, who never loft an opportuni- ty of honouring merit in his enemies, gave hrm a fword with his own hand, made him a confiderable prefent in money, and difmified him on his parole. The ho- nour which the town of Thorn derived from having .-formerly ^irea birth to Copemicusi the {o\>xvdt.\ ^'i x!ci^ 6S HISTORY OP CHARLES ^11. true fyftem cf the globe, was of no fervice to it with a conqueror too little acquainted with thefe fubjeds, and who had not yet learned to reward any thing but va* lour^ But this poor and paltry town was condemned to pay forty thoufand crowns ; an exceffive contribu- tion for fuch a place. Elbing, built on an arm of the Viftula, founded by the Teutonic Knights, and annexed likewife to Poland, did not profit by the fault of the Dantzickers, but he- fitated too long about giving paflage to the Swedifli troops. It was ftill morefeverely puniftied than Dant- zick. Charles entered Elbing the isth of December at the head of four thoufand men, with bayonets fixed to the ends of their fufees. The inhabitants, ftruck with terror, threw themfelves on their knees in the ftreets, and begged for mercy. He had them all difarmedy quartered his foldiers upon the citizens, and then, ha* ving fent for the Magiftracy, he exacted, that very day, a contribution of two hundred and fixty thoufand crowns. There were in the town two hundred pieces of carmon, and four hundred thoufand weight of powder, which he feized. A battle gained could not have procured him fo many advantages. All thefe fucceffes were the forerunners to the de* throning the King of Poland. Scarcely had the Cardinal fwore to his King, that he would attempt nothing againft him, than he repaired to the affembly at Warfaw, always under the pretext of peace. He arrived, fpeaking of nothing but of con>- cord and obedience, though he was accompanied by a number of foldiers whom he had raifed on his own e* ftate. At laft he threw oflFthe mafk, and on the 14th of February 1 704, in the name of the AfTembly, de- clared " Auguftus, EleiSor of Saxony, incapable of wearing the crown of Poland." They all pronounced^ with one voice the throne to be vacant. The wifli of the King of Sweden, and confequently that of the Diet, was to give to Prince James Sobieiky the throne of the King his father. King John. James Sobiefky was, at xi/s time, at Breflaw in S'lleCia, -wavun^^NvUx impatience KING OF SWEDEN- 69 for Ae ttovm which his father had wore. He was one day huntings with Prince Condantincy one of his bro* thers, a few miles from Breda w, when thirty Saxon liorfemen^ fecretly fcnt by King Auguflus, nifliing fud- denly oQt of a neighbonring wood, furrounded the two Princes, and carried thera off without refiftance. Freih horiks had been prepared, on, which they were con- duced to Lerpfick, and there clofely confined. This iiroke deranged the meafnres of Charles, the Cardinal^ ^ ^nd the whdte Aflembly of Warfaw. Fortune, who fports With crowned heads, placed, "elmofl at the fame inflant, Augufhis in- danger of be- ing nearly taken himfelf. He was at table, three leagues from Cracow, relying upon an advanced guard, pofied at fomre diftance, when General Renfchild appeared, after having tarried off tliis guard. The King of Po- hind had but juft time to mount his horfe, with ten 0- thers. General Renfchild purfued him for three days^ on the point of feizing him every moment. The King fled as far as Sendomir, t^e Swcdifli General ftill pur- ftiing him ; and it was only by fingular good fortune that this Ptirice efcaped. During all this time Auguftus's party and that of J^ Cardinal treated each other as traitors* The army of the Crown was divided between thefe two fadlions* Auguftus, at laft, forced to accept of fupport from the Mufcovites, repented that he had not had rccourfe to them {boner. One time he fled into Saxony^ where his reiources Wtre exhaufted ; then he returned to Po- land, where no one dared to afliil him. On the other ba:nd, the King of Sweden, vidorious and tranquil, reigned over Poland mote abfolutely than Auguftus had ever done. 'Count Pipei-, who had a mind as much formed for •politics as his matter's was for true greatnefs, now pro- pofed to Charles XII. that he fhould himfelf take the Crown of Poland. He reprefented to him how eafy it )ihfght be done, with a viAorious army, and a power- ful party in the heart of the kingdom already fubdued. He tempted him with the title of ** 'D^tdtTi^tx c>^ x^'?^ TO HISTORY OF CHARLES XII. ** Evangelic 'Religion," a name which flattered the ambition of Charles. It would be eafy, he faid, to do in Poland what Guftavus Vafa had done in Sweden — to eftabliih Lutheranifm, and to break the chains of the people, already enflaved by the nobility and cler- gy. Charles was tempted for a moment ; but glory was his idol. To that he facrificed his own interefl, and the pleafure he would have enjoyed in taking Po- ^ land from the Pope. He told Count Piper, that he was more flattered by giving than gaining kingdoms ; and added, fmiling, " You was intended for the Mi- ** nifter of an Italian Prince.** Charles was ftill near Thorn, in that part of Royal Pruflia which belongs to Poland ; from whence he ex- tended his views to what was pafling at Warfaw, and kept the neighbouring Powers in awe. Prince Alex- ander, brother to the two Sobielkies who were carried into Silefia, came and implored his afllftance to re- venge his wrongs. Charles granted his requeft fo much the more readily, as he imagined he could revenge himfelfatthe fame time. But impatient to give a King to Poland, he propofed to Prince Alexander his mounting the throne, from which fortune feemed deter- mined to exclude his brother. Charles little expe<5led a refufal ; but Prince Alexander told him, that nothing fhould ever engage him to profit by the misfortunes of his elder brother. The King of Sweden, Count Piper, all his friends, and particularly the young Palatine of Pofnania, Staniflaus Leczin&y, prefled him to accept the Crown : he was refolute. The neighbouring Prin- ces heard with aftonifliment this uncommon refufal, and knew not which to admire moft, a King of Swe- den who at twenty-two years of age gave away the Crown of Poland, or Prince Alexander who rcfufcd it. :B0QK KING OF SWEDEN. 7^ ' BOOK 111. ARGUMENT. Staniflaus Leczinfky clciScd King of Poland. — Death of the Car- dinal Primate.— !-Skilful Retreat of General Schulcnbourg. — Exploits of the Czar.a- Foundation of Peterfburg.— Battle of Frauenftad— Charles enters Saxony.— Peace of Altranftad. — Auguftuj abdicates the Crown in favour of Staniflaus. — General Patkul, the Czar's Plenipotentiary, is broke upon the Wheel and quartered.— Charles receives the AiubafLdors of Fortign # Princes.— Vifita AuguftuK Young Stanlflaus Leczlniky was at this time de- puted by the Aflembly of Warfaw to make a report to the King of Sweden of^feveral differences which had arifen during the abfence^f Prince James. Staniilaiis had a happy countenancej full of boldnefs and fwecr- nefs, with an air of probity and franknefs^ which of aU external advantages is the greate{l» and gives more force to words than even eloquence itfelf. The wifdom with which he difcourfed of the King Auguftus, the Aflembly, the Cardinal Primate, and of the different inteicfts- which -divided Poland, ftruck Charles. King Staniflaus did* me the honour to relate to me, that he faid to the King of Sweden, in Latin, " How can we "proceed to an ele army to rendezvous before Leopcdd» the capital of the- Great Palatinate of RuSia, a place important in iticlfr and dill more fo by die riches with which it was filled. It was imagined that it would have held out fifteen^. days, on account of the fortifications which Auguftus^ had built there. The Conqueror fat down before it on^ the 5th of September, and the nejst day took it by^ af- feulu All who dared to refi/iwere put to the fword.. The troops, vidorious and mafters of the town, did not feparate themielves to run to pillage, notwithftand-^ ing the great treafures which were in Leopold. They arranged tbemfelves in order of battle in the great fquare. There, thofe who remained in the garrifoa came and furrendered tbemfelves prifoners o£ war* The King caufed it to be publiihed by the found of ' trumpet, that all thofe inhabitants who had any effe^s- Wonging to Auguftus or his adherents, fliould bring- them to him before the clofe of the day^ on paiii of death. The meafures were fo well taken that few da* . red to difobey ; and four hundred chefts, filled with gold and filver coin, plate, and other valuable thingSg^ were brought to the King. The beginning of the reign of Staniflaus wa.s diftin- guiibed almoft at the fame time by an event widely difierent. Some affairs which abfolutely demanded his. prefence, had obliged him to remain at Warfaw. He M^ wiib titti bi& Biotberi bi^ viife^ ^xvdv«o 4^>\%bters. KINa o? SWEDEN: 75 Ai this -confufion be had nearlj loft his fecond daugh<^ isiv ^wIm) was but one year old^ She had been carried ^ aiHiy by heriMii^y who hadloft^ her way^ and he found l^er in the manger of a ftable m anetghbonring village t. ivhere (he had been abandoned. It was this very in* i^t whom Fate» after fiill greater riciffitudes, elevated to be Queen of France^, The Cardinal PHmale, the Bi(hop of Pofnania, and &ine Grandees of Poland, cOmpofed h'S new court. It. was guarded by fix thouiknd Poles of the army of the- Crown, who had lately entered into his fervice, but whofe fidelity had not as yet been proved. General. Hoom, gpvemoi^ of the town, had not more than fif- . teen hundred Swedes with him. There was a pro- found tranquillity at Warfaw, and Staniflaus propofed' to depart in a few. days for the conqueft of Leopold t .whenv all on a fudden, he wa5 informed that a numc^ Kous army was approaching the town. It was Ring; Auguftus, who by. a new effort, and one. of the mo^ ikiltul marche& that ever general made,, had deceived the King of Sweden, and was coming with twenty thouiand men to fall upon Warfaw, and. to carry oS .his rival. Warfaw was very ill fortified; the PoUfli troops who were to defend it were not to^ be relied on ; and Au- guftus. having fptes in, the town, Staniflaus muft have .periihed bad he remained there. He accordingly fent back his family into Pofnania, under a guard of Pollfh troops, fuch as he had mod confidence in. The Can-, dinal Ptimate fled among the firft to the frontiers of FruOSa ; many of the nobles took different roads; as for the new King^ he imnsediately fet out to find Charles XII. learning at an early period to fuffer dif- grace,. and forced to quit the capital^ of which he had been, but fix weeks before, ele^d fovereign. The 3\{hop of Po&ania was the only perfon who could not efcape ; he was confined by a dangerous diftemper in Warfaw. Fart of the fix thoufand Poles followed Sta^ niflaus, the reft efcorted his family. Such whofe fide-. Iky St waj not judged, prudent Vo cx^ofe Vo xJafc xsxw^ ^tf HTStORY OP CHARLES XIT.'^ tottion of returning to the fetvice- of Augufttts, were : fent into Pofnania. As for Gdfneral Hoom, who was - governor of Warfaw for the King of Sweden^ he te^ mained with his fifteen hundred Swedes iathe ca(lle.> Augustus entered into his capital as a fovereign irri* tated and triumphant^' The inhabitants^ before laid tinder contribution by the King of- Sweden, were ftiH'; more hardly treated by^ Auguftus. The Cardinal's palace, and all the houfes of the confederate Lord^ with all their wealth* both in town-«nd country, were given to pillage. What was the mod furprizing iiki this fudden revolution was, that the Pope's Nuncio,., who came with King Auguftus, demanded^^" in the. name of his mafter,. that they ihould deliver up to him. the Billiop of Pofnania, as fubjeft to the Church of ' Rome, in the quality of a Bifhop, and the favourer of a . Prince placed on the dirone by the arms -of a Lutheran. The- Court of Romc-who hai always ilrove to aug- • nicnt- its temporal- pow^r by means of '^ its fpiritual, . had a long time firtce eftabliihed in Poland a kind of ^ jurifdi<5lion, at the head of which is the Pdpe's Nuncio; . Its minifters never let flip any favourable, opportunity to extend their power ; a power revered by the multi* - tude, but always oppofed by thofe of more wifdoro. . They attributed to themfelves a right to judge of all ecckfiaftical caufes^ and, in time* of trouble, had u- furped feveial other prerogatives,. in which theyipain- talned themfelves till about the year 1728, when thcfe abufes wer& corre(5ted ; abufes,- fuch as arc never re- formed tilL they become abfolutcly intoktabldt . Au- - guftus, happy in any opportunity of punifliing the Bi- Ihop of Pofna»ia with decorum, and at the fame time defirons to pleafe the Couit of Rome, againft which at any other tinne he would have eierted himfelf, deliver- ed the Polifh- Prelate into the hands of the Nuncio. The Bifhop, after beholding his houfe pillaged, was carried by the foldiers to the houfe of- the Italian Mi^ niller, and from thence fent into Saxony, wheie be died. Count de Hoom fuftained in the cadle, where 2te was Ihut up;^tbe.conuaaaV&^C!i)( liba«Ck»caY% uUn . KING OF SWEDEN. 77 the ptace being no longer able to bold out, he fbrreiv- 4ered bimfelf prifoner of war, together with his fifteen hundred Swedes. This was the fird advantage that Auguflus had, durkig the torrent of his bad fortune, over the vi^orious arms of hU enemy. This la(^ effort was the blaze of a Bre that wa» juO: going out. His troops, who were a/Iembled in ha({e, qonfifted of Poles, ready to abandon him on the fird misfortune ; of Saxon recruits, who had never till then fcen any thing of war ; of vagabond Coflacks, more fit \o plunder th^ conquered, than to conquer ; and all of tficm trembled at the very name of the King of Sweden. That Conqueror, accompanied by King Staniilaus, vent to feek his enemy>. at the head of his choiceft Uoops. The Saxon army fled every-wbere before him. The towns for thirty miles round fent him their keys ; 9or was there a day which was not fignalized by fome advantage. Succefs bccan^e too familiar to Charles. He faid^ ** k was rather going to hunt than goitig to- *^ war,'' and complained that his vi<5lones colt him fo little. Auguftus entrufted the command of his army for ^me time to Count de Schuhmbourg, a very able Ge- neral, but who had need of all his experience at the* head of a difpirited army. He (ludied more to pre* ferve his mailer's troops, than to conquer. He carried en the war by (Iratagem, the two King's pufhed it with vigour. He ftole feveral marches upon them, took poffeffion of fome advantageous pofts, j^nd faciificed. part of his cavalry to give his infantry time to majce a tore retreat. After many feints and countermarches, he foundj himfelf near Puiiitz, in the Palatinate of Pofnania, thinking that Staiiiflaus and the King of Sweden were, at fifty leagues diftance from him. He learned upon bis arrival, that the two Kings had Hi.arched thofe fifty leagues in nine days, and that they were con:je to at- tack him with ten or twelve thoufand horfe. Schu. lembourg had but eight thoufand foot and a thoufand. feprfc. it; was neceflacy tp toa.ii)tain hiijifclf again ft a^ 7S HISTORY OF CHARLES XTI. fuperior army, again ft the name of the King of Swe- den, and againft the natural fear with which fo many defeats had naturally infprred the Saxons. He had al- j ■ways maintained, againft the opinions of the German Generals, that infantry was able to refift cavalry in the open field, even without the affiftance of chevaux de frize ; and he this day made the experiment againft at * vi<5lorious cavalry, commanded by the two Kings, and by the choiceft of the Swedilh Generals He pofted hinifclf fo advantageoufly that he cnuld not be furrouHdi- • ed. The firft rank, armed with pikes aad fufees, knelt down with one knee upon the ground ; and the foIdier«f placed clofely together, prefented to the enemy's horfc a kino of rampart, pointed with pikes and bayonets; the fecond rank inclined a little over the ihoulders of the firft ; and the thirds ftanding upright^ fired at tlie fame time from behind the other two. The Swedes, with their ufual impetuofity, preffed down upon the £'axons, who expedted them with firttanefs : the fire of xht fnCteSi together with the points of the pikes and - bayonets, maddened the horfes, who began to rear in- ftead of advancing. By thefe means the Swedes at- tacked in diforder, and the Saxons defended themfelves by keeping their ranks. If Charles had difmounted his cavalry, Schnlem- bourg's army muft have been routed without refourcek This was the chief apprehenfion of that General, who expedied that his enemy would take this refolution e- v«ry moment ; but neither the. King of Sweden, who had fo often put in practice -all the llratagems of war, nor any of his Generals, conceived this idea. This un- equal combat of a body of cavaliy againft infantry, continued with frequent interruptions and refumed at- tacks near three hours. The Swedes loft more horfes. than men. Schulembourg gave ground at laft, but his troops were not broke. He formed them into an oblong fquare ; and though he was wounded in five places, he, in this form, maintained an orderly retreat,, in the middle of the night, into the little town of Gu- r^Uj about three leagues &om\iv^ ^^\d of b^iAxle. — But KING OP SWEDEN. 79 he had fcarcely begun to breathe in this place» when the two kings fuddenly appeared after him. Beyond Gurau, in marching towards the river Oder, was a thick wood, by leading them through which the Saxon General faved his fatigued infantry. The Swedes, without hefitation, purfued them through the wood, advancing with difficulty through patlis fcarce- ly payable by ibot-travellers. T'he Saxons had not crofled the wood above five hours before the Swedifh cavalry. On the other fide of this wood runs the river Parts, at the foot of a village named Rutfen. Schu- lembourg had lent for boats to be immediately aflem- bled, who carried over his troops, of which half were deftroyed. Charles arrived at the time that Schulem- bourg had reached the oppofite fhore Never did a conqueror purfue his enemy fo vigoroufly. The repu- tation of Schulemberg depended upon his efcaping from the King of Sweden : the King of Sweden, on bis fide, imagined his glory interefted in taking Schu- lembourg, and the remains of his army . he loft rK> time ; but knade his cavalry fwim over. The Saxons found themfelves fiiut up between this river of Parts and the great river of the Oder, which takes its fource in Silefia, and is very deep and rapid at this place. The deftrndtion of Schulembourg appeared inevita- ble ; he attenipted, however, to extricate himfelf from thifi extremity by one of thofe ftrokes of art which are equivalent to vidlories, arid which are fo much the more glorious as Fortune has no (hare in them. He had no more than four thoufand men remaining : u- pon his right was a mill, which he filled with his gre- nadiers; upon his left, a marfh; a ditch lay before him; and his rear-guard was upon th^ banks of the Oder. He had no pontoons for pailing the river, but, fo early as the evening before, he had ordered floats to be pre- pared. Charles, the moment of his arrival, attacked the mill ; perfuaded that as foon as it was taken the Saxons mull either, perifh in the river qr in the field, or diat at leaft they muft furrender at difcretion, together -with their General. However, the floats were x^^id^^ So HISTORY OT CHARLEff XII. the Saxons pafled the Oder by favour of the night, and when Charles had forced the mill, he no longer fbutid ihe ^enemy's army. The two Kings beftowed their en- comiums upon this retreat, M^^hich is to this day fpo- Icen of with admiration in the Empire, and Charles could not prevent himfelf from iaying, " Schnlem- <* bouTg has conquered us to-day.** But what cover- ed Schulembourg with honour fcarccly proved of any fervice to Anguftus. That Prince abandoned Boland once more to his enemies : he retited into Saxony, and prepared with precipitation the fortifications of Dwf- den ; being afraid, and not without reafoo, for the ca- pital of his hereditary dominions. ^ Charles XI I. now beheld Poland reduced to Aibjec* tion ; and his Generals, following their King's exam- ple, had juft beat in Courland feveral fmall bodies of the Mufcovites, who, fmce the great battle of Narta, had only (hewn themfelves in fmall parties, and made war in thofe quarters like the vagabond Tartars, who pillage, fly, and then return only to fly again. Wherever the Swedes came they imagined them- felves fure of a victory, even when they were only twenty to an hundred. At this happy conjundore Staniflaus prepared for his coronation. Fortune, who had elefted him at Warfaw, and who had alio driven him thence, again recalled him thither, amid (I the ac- clamations of a crowd of nobility whom the fortune of war had attached to him. A Diet was there convenedi and every obftacle removed ; nor were there any but the Court of Rome who oppofed him. It was natural for Rome to declare for King AugnA tus, who from a Proteftant had become a Cath^ic, that he might mount the throne ; and againft Stani-^ flaus, placed on the fame throne by the great enemy of the Catholic religion. Clement XI. at that time FV)pe, fent briefs to every Prelate of Poland, and above all to the Cardinal Primate, by which he threatened excommunication to thofe who dared to a(fift at the confecration of StaniOaus, or attempt any thing againft* the rights of King Anguftus. KING OP SWEDEN. 8i, If thefe briefs were delivered to the Bifliops who were at Warfaw, it was to be feared that fome would Tobey through weaknefs, and that the greater part, a- "vailing themfelfes of the circumflance, would render themfelves more troublefome, as they were the more neceffary. Every precaution was therefore ufed, that the letters of the Pope fhould not be received in War^- iaw. However, a Francifcan received the briefs fc- cretly, in order that he might deliver them into the Prelates hands. He immediately gave one to the fuf- fragan of Chelm : this Prelate, who was ftrongly at- tached to Staniflaus, carried it to the King unopened. The Kii\g caufed the monk to be brought to him, and aiked him how he dared to take charge of fuch a bu- iinefs. The Francifcan replied, tha* it was by order of his General. Staniflaus defired him, for the future, to mind the orders of his King in preference. to thofe of the General of the Francifcans ; and inftantly ba- xiifhed him the town. TLlie fame day a placart was publiflied by the King of Sweden, by which it was forbidden, under the moll grievous penalties, to all ecclefiaftics, fecular as well as regular, then in Warfaw, to meddle with the aflPairs of ftate. For greater fecurity, he had guards planted at the gates of every Prelate, and forbad any ftranger to enter the town. He took upon himfelf thefe little Teverities, in order that Staniflaus fliould not quarrel with the clergy at his accefllon. He faid, that he re- laxed himfelf from his military fatigues in flopping the intrigues of the Romiih Court, and that he muft fight againft that with paper, when h- was obliged to at- tack other fover'eigns with real arms. The Cardinal Primate was folicited by Charles and Staiuflaus to come and perform the ceremony of the coronation. But as he did not imagine himfelf obli* • §ed to quit Dantzick to confecrate a King whom he id not wifli to have been eledled, and as his policy was never to do any thing without a pretext, he refol- .ved to provide a lawful pxcufe for his refufal. He .therefore caufed the Pope's brief to b^ ^ia^ \xv \N\^ I . XAJ^V fJ2 HISTORY or CHARLES XII. night-time to the gate of his own houfe. The MagTi^ trates of Dant7.ick, flruck with the indignity, made ftri^l fearch after the offenders, but they were never found. The Primate feigned to be irritated, but ne- vertlielefs was well fatisfied. He had now a pretext for not confecratmg the new King ; and at the fame time kept fair with Charles XII, Auguftus, Stanidaus, and the Pope. He died a few days after, leaniring his country in a dreadful confufion, and had gained no advantage by all . his intrigues but that of embroiling himfelf at once with the three Kings Charles, Augo^ tus, and Staniflaus, witli the Republic, and with the Pope, who had ordered him to repair to Rome, to give an account of his condut5t : but as even politicians have fometimes remorfe in their laft moments, he wrote to King Auguftus on his death-bed befeeching his pardon. The confecration was performed with tranquillity and magnificence the^th of 0(5tober 1705, in the city of Warfaw, notwithftanding the aS»xA 84 HISTORY of CHARLES XIL thoufand men, whom the Czar had aHembled from his dominions. The peafants of the kingdom of Aftracan, and thofe who inhabit the frontiers of China, were tranfported to Peterfbtirg. He was obliged to clear forefts, to make roads, to drain marfbes, and to raifc banks, before he could lay the foundation of the city. Nature was forced in every thing. The Czar was rc- folute to people a country which did not appear to be deftined for men ; neither the inundations which razed his works, the fterility of the foil, the ignorance of the workmen, nor even the mortality, which deftroyed two hundred thoufand men in the beginning, could make him change his refolution. The town was found- ed amidft theobftacles which nature, the genius of the people, and an unhappy war, had raifed againft it. Peterfburg had become a city in 1 705, and its har- bour was. filled with (hips. The Emperor attraSed. Grangers by his beneficence, diftributing lands to (bmCt giving hoiifes to others, and welcoming every artift that came to civilize this favage climate. Abore ally he had rendered Peterfburg inacceflible to the efforts of his enemies. The S>\ediTh Generals, who frequent- ly beat his troops in every other quarter, were not able to hurt this infant colony. It was tranquil in the midft of the war which furrounded. The Czar, thus creating to himfelf new dominions, always held out his hand to Auguftus, who was lofing his ; he perfuaded him by General Fatkul, who had lately entered into the fervice of Mufcovy, and was then the Czar's Ambaffador in Saxony, to come ta Grodno, to confer with him once more on the un- happy ftate of his afFaii:3« Auguftus came there with fome troops, accompanied by General Schulembourg, whofe pafTage over the Oder had rendered him famou& through the North, and in whom he placed his laft hope. The Czar arrived there alfo, followed by an array of 70,000 men. Thefe two Monarchs concert- ed new plans for carrying on the war. Auguftus, being dethroned, was no longer afraid of irritating tfec Poles, by abandoning their couuu^ to tb^ Mufcovit« KING OF SWEDEN. 85 troops. It was resolved that the army of the Czar ihould divide itfelf into feveral bodies, to (lop the King of Sweden at every flep. It was at the time of this in- terview that Auguftus renewed the order of the White Eagle; a weak rcfource to attach to his intereflr fome Polilh Lords, more defirous of real advantages than of an empty honour, which becomes ridiculous- when it is held of a Prince who has nothing of a King but the name. The conference of the two Kings finifhed in an extraordinary manner. The C/.ar departed fud- denly, and left his troops with his ally, to haden and crufh a rebellion with which, he was threat^ied .in AC' ftracan. . Scarcely was he gone, before AuguHius or- dered Patkul to be arrefted at Diefden. All Europe wasfuiprifed that he dared, againft the law of nations, and in appearance againd his own intereft, to throw into piifon theAmbaifador of .the only Prince who proteded him.- . TThe fecret fpring of this tranfa<5lion, as a Ton cf King Augudus did m^ the honour to tell me, was ^s follows: Paikul, profcribed in Sweden for having de- fended the privileges of Livonia, his^- nativie country, had been Gkneral to Auguftus ; but his high and lof- ty fpir it couM ill accord vnth the haughtinefs of Gene- ral Fleming the favourite of the King, who was more imperious and lofty than himfelf ; he- therefore pafFed . ineo .the. fervtce of ^e Czar, whofe General he then was,: and his AmbaiTador at the Court of Auguftus. Pofi*efred with a penetrating geniusy he plainly per- ceived ihat.the views of Fleming and the Chancellor of Saxony were to propofe a. peace to tlte^Kingof Swe- den .at any price whatfoever. He immediately form- ed a jdeHgn to prevent them^ andto efied aa accom- modation between the Czar, and Sweden^ The Chan- cellor difcovered his projed, and obtained leave to fcize his peribn. King Auguftus told the- Czar, that hit was a traitor who betrayed them. both. He was, hswtvtTf no farther culpable than in having ferved Ids. new mafter too well; but an ill-timed fervice fre- q^djT meeu/with the pynifbm^&t iw CQ ccca&iu 86 HISTORY of CHARLES XIL In the mean time, on one fide, the feventy thonfand RufHans, divided into feveral fmall bodies, were burn- ine and ravaging the lands of Staniilans' adherents; while, en the other, Schiilembourg was advancing with frefh troops. The good fortune of the Swedes difperfed thefe two armies in lefs than two mondis. Charles XII. and Staniflaus attacked the feparate bo- dies of the Mufcovites, one after the other, with fuch fpirit, that one Mufcovite General was beat before he beard of the defeat of his companion. No obftacle could flop the conqueror : if he found a river between him and the enem^r, Charles and his Swedes fwam acrofs it. A party of Swedes took the baggage of Augullus, in which were two hundred thoufand crowns of filver coined. Stanidaus feiied eight hundred thoufand ducats belonging to Ihince ^&nzikoff, the Mufcovite General. Charles, at the head of his cavalry, marched thirty leagues in twenty- four hours ; every foldier leading a horfe in hisThand,. to mount when his own was weary. The Mufcovites terrified, and reduced to a fmall number, fled in dtT' . order, beyond the Borifthenes. W^ile Charles was driving the Mufcovites before ^ him, even into the very heart of Livonia, Schulem- boiirg fepaifed the Oder, and came at the head of twenty thoufand men to give battle to the Grand Marflial Renfchild, who was efteemed the beft Gene- ral of Charles XII. and was called the Parmenio of this Alexander of the North. ITiele two illuftrious Generals, who feemed to patticipate of the deftiny of their mailers,' encountered each other near Punitz, in a place called Frauenllad, a fpot already fatal to the troops of Auguftus. Renfchild had but thirteen batv taliiNis> and twenty-two fquadrons, which made in all about ten thoufand men. Schulembourg had double that number. It is remarkable, that he had in his ar- my a body of fix or feven thoufand Mufcovites* who had been long dlfciplined in Saxony, and were looked upon as veteran troops, who united the ferocity of the Mufcovites to the Qexmau dv&\^lvGL<(% The battle of KING OF SWEDEN. 87 Tranenftad was fought the 12th of February 1706; but this very General Schulembourg, who with four thoiifand men had in fome meafure, baffled the for- tune of the King of Sweden, funk under that of Ge- neral Renfchild. The combat did not laft a quarter of an hour. The Saxons did not refift a moment ; and the Mufcovites threw' down their arms as foon as they faw the Swedes : the panic was fo fudden, and the diforder fo great, that the conquerors found on the field of battle feven thoufand loaded fufees, which the enemy had thrown down without firing. Never was defeat more fudden, more complete, or more dif- gracefiil ; and yet no General ever made a finer difpo- fition than Schulembourg, even in the opinion of the Swedifh Generals, as well as of the Saxons, who iaw in this^jr how little hufnan prudence is midrefs of events. Among the prifoners they found an entire regiment of French. Thefe unfortunate men had been taken by the Saxon troops, in 1 704, at the famous battle of Hochftet, fo fatal to the grandeur of Louis XIV. ITiey had entered fince that into the fervice of King Auguflus, who had formed them into a reginjent of dragoons, and had given the command to a French- man of the houfe of Joyeufe. The Colonel was killed at the fir ft, or rather the only charge of the Swedes, and the whole regiment was made prifoners of war. The fame day thefe Frenchmen begged to ferve Charles XII. and they were accordingly received into his fervice by a fingular deftiny, which referved them once more to change their conqueror into their mafler. With regard to the Mufcovites, they begged their lives oa their knees ; but were inhumanly ma(Ficred, about fix hours after the combat, to revenge the vio-> knees ofiered by their countrymen ; and alfo that the Swedes might get rid of prifoners whom they knew not how to diipofe of. The King, upon his return from Lithuania, learn- ed this frelh victory : but the fatisfaAion he received from it was difturbed by a fmall degree of jealoufy. He could not prevent himfelf from fe^Vtv^^ ^^ TcCv^ *v^ SS . HISTORY OF. CHARLES Xin ^ the laft time that Renfchild fliall be coinpa]:ed with; "me.*' Auguftus now faw hinafelf wiihout reiburces; he- bad no place left him but Cracow, in which he was ihut up with two regiments of Mufcovites, two of Saxons, and fbme troops of the Army of the Cr4>wn,, hy whom he was even afraid of being delivered up to^ the conqueror ; but his ruin was complete, when ht: learned that Charles XII. was at la(l entered into Sax-, oay, on the firft September 1 7o6w He had marched llitough.Silelia even without deign-^ ing to advertife the Court of Vienna. Germany was , alarmed ; the Diet of Rati(bon, which reprefenu the Empire, but whofe ref<»lutions are often as ineffeduat^ as folemn, declared the King of. Sweden an enemy tav the Empire, if he pafled the Oder with his. army;; which circum ft ance. determined him. to march the- fponer into Germany. At his approach the villages were^defett^d/and tbe.f inhabitants Sed oa every, fide. Charley behaved here«- as at Copenhagen; he.caufed it every where to be pub- lifhed, that. he was only come to give them peace,, and : that all thofe who would return home, and .-pai&the contributions he demanded j ihould be treated as his % proper fubje^, but that the reft fhoojd be purfued without quarter; This decjlaration, fwm a Prince, who was never known to break his word, made thofe return in crowds who before had fled from fear*, He pitched bis camp at Altraniiad, near the plxin of ^Lut- zen, a field famous for the vidory and death of Gn{^ - tavus Adolphus. He went, to feje. the place where that great man was killed, When they had condqdled him . 10 the fpot, " 1 have endeavoured," faid he, " to live «like him ; Qod will gr%i}tt me one dayy perhsipsi a . ** death as glorious." He feiit orders from the camp to the States^ Sax- - ony to affemble, and tranfmit to him without delay the regiiters of the electoral finances.^ As fooa as be - hnd them in his power, and was informed ji^iUy of wJ^at Saxony \va9.aUe. toiwDSi&v^.Vxv^^at^Md i fix KING OF SWEDEN. 89 hundred and twenty-five thoufandrix-dollarsa-month. Befides this contribution, the Saxons were obliged to furnifb every Swedifli foldier with two pounds of f)e(h, two pounds of bread, two pots of beer, and four fols a-day, together with forage for their hoife*. ' ITie contributions thus regulated, the King cftabliftied a new police to pr6te<5t the Saxons from the infults of his own foldiers : he ordered, that in every town where he placed garrifons, the inn-keepers who quartered his foldiers (hould give certificates every month of their condudli in default of which the foldier was not to have his pay. Befides this, infpciflors went every fif- teen days from houfe to houfe, to inform themfelves whether the Swedes had committed any outrage ; and they were likewife authorized to indemnify the inn- keeper, and punifii the offender. It is well known under what fevere difcipline the troops of Charles XII. were kept : that they never pil- laged towns taken by aflault, before they received per- miflian : that they even then plundered in a regular manner, and left o£F at the firft fignal. The Swedes boaft to this day of the difcipline which they obferved in Saxony, while the Saxons complain of the terrible outrages they committed ; contradi Refendary of ttie Privy Council, to carry this letter ; and gave ihtfflT both full powers, and a blank fighed : " Go," (faid. he to them) «• endeavour to obtain for me reafbnable ** and chriftian conditions.** He was reduced to the ne- ceflky of concealing thofe overtures, and to decline the open mediation of any Prince ; for, being then in. Pxv- land at the mercy of the Mufcovites, he had reafon to fear that that dangerous ally, whom he was now^oing . to abandon, would take vengeance on him fbrhisitib- mifSon to the conqueror. His two Plenipotentiaries came to Charles's camp in the night-time^ and had av private audience. The Kin^, having read the letter*. told them they fhould have his anfwer immediately;. and accordingly retiring to his clofet, he wrote as fol- lows : ** I confent to give peace on the following condkions^. « in which it mull not be expedted. that* L c^wrwill " make the leaft: alteration. I. ** That Auguftus renounce for ever the crown of " Poland ; that he acknowledge Staniflans as lawful ^ King ; and. that he promife never to think of re- •♦ mounting; KING OF SWEDEN. 91 ^* tnottnting the throne, not even after the death of « Staniflaus. II. " That he cancel all other treaties, particularly •* thofb he liad made with the Mufcovites. Til. ** That he honourably fend back to my camp ** the Princes Sobiefky, with the otlier prifoners whom -*« he has taken. IV. " l^at he deliver up all the deferters who have *^ entered into his fervice, particularly John Patkul ; ** and that he flop all proceedings againA fuch as have ♦* defer ted from his fervice and entered into mine " This written anfwer he gave to Count Piper, with or- ders to fettle the particulars with the Plenipoteiuiaries of Auguftus. Thefe gentlemen were fhockcd at the icveiity of the propofals, and ufed all the little arts ■Jd^TUt men without power can employ, to mitigate, if .jpoflihle, the rigour of the King. They had fcveral conferences with Count Piper; but that Minifter anfwer- .*d all their arguments with this (hort reply : " Such is •*« the' will of the King my mafter, and he never chan- •" ges his refolution.'* While thefe negociations were carrying on in Saxo- ny, fortune feemed to put Auguftus in a conditicm to -obtain more honourable terms, and to treat with his conqueror on a more equal footing. Prince MenzikoflF, Oeneraliffimo of the Mufcovites, entered Poland with a body of thirty thoufiind men, at 'a time when Auguftus not only did not defire their af- -iiftance. but ev-en dreaded it. He had only with him €ome Polifh and Saxon troops, making in all about fir thoufand men. With fo fmall a body of troops, fur- vounded by the army of Prince Menzikoff, he had eve- ry thing to fear in cafe the negociation Ihould be dif^ -covered. He faw himfelf at once dethroned by his e- iieiny, and in danger of being taken prifoner by his al- ly. In this delicate crtfis, one of the Svvedifh Generals, named Meyerfield, at the head of ten thoufand men, -appeared at Calilh, near the Palatinate of Pofnania. ' JEHincc MenzikoflF preifed Auguftus to give them battle; ^rhoy being greatly embarafledi delayed tb.^ ^tv^^%^- 92 HISTORY OF CHARLES XIT. ment under various pretexts ; for, though the eaeiDf had but one third of his number, there were four thou* iand Swedes in Meyerfield's army, and that alone was fufficient to render the event doubtful. To attack the Swedes during the negociation, and to lofe the batde, was, in effedl, to deepen the abyfs in which he was al- ' ready plunged. He refoWed, therefore, to fend a tnif- ty fervant to the General of the enemy, in order to give him fome diftant hints of the peace, and adviie him to letreat. But this advice produced an efied contrary to what he ezpe^ed. . General Meyerfield thought they were laying a fnare to intimidate him ; and for that reafon refolved to hazard the battle. The Ruffians now, for the firft time, conquered the Swedes in a pitched battle. This vi^ory, which Au- gudus gained almofl againfl his will, was entire and complete. In the midfl of his bad fortune, he entered triumphant into Warfaw, formerly^his flourifhing ca- pital, but then a difmantled and ruined town, ready to receive any conqueror, and to acknowledge the ftrongeft for King. He was tempted to feize upon this moment of profperity to go with the Mufcovite ar- my to attack the King of Sweden in Saxony. But when he refle<5led that Charles XII. was at the head of an army hitherto invincible ; that the Ruffians would abandon him on the firft intelligence of the treaty he had begun ; that his Saxon dominions, already di;jaun- ed of men and money, would be equally ravaged by the Swedes and Mufcovites ; that the Empire, engaged in a war with France, could afford him no affiftance ; and that, in the end, he fhould be left without Tiomi- nions, money, or friends ; he thought it moft advisa- ble to comply with the terms the king of Sweden fhould impofe. Thefe became ft ill more fevere, when Chailes heard that Auguftus had attacked his troops during the negociation. His refentment, and the pleafure of far- ther Jiumbling an enemy who had juft vanquifhed his forces, made him inflexible upon all the articles of the - treaty. Thus the vi<^ory of Auguftus ferved only to render KING OF SWEDEN. 93 ^nder his fituation the more miferable 5 a circumftance which perhaps never happened to any one but himfelf. He -had juft caufed TV Dcum to be fung at Waif aw, "When Fingftein, one of his Plenipotentiaries, arrived from Saxony wi& the treaty of peace which deprived him of his crown. Augullus hefitated for a while, but at length figned it 5 and fet out for Saxony, vainly- hoping that his prefence would fcrften the King of Swe- iden, and that his enemy would perhaps remember the ancient allianpe of their families, and the affinity of blood that ran m their veins. Thefe two Princes met, for the fir^ time without ceremony, in Count Piper's tent, at a place called Guterfdor£P. Charles was, as ufaal, in his jack-boots, "with a piece of black ta^'ety tied round his neck in- ilead or a -cravat; his cloaths of coarfe blue cloth, with gilt brafs buttons. He had a long fword by his Ade, which had fefved him in the battle of Narva, and "on -the pommel of which he frequently leaned. The •cOnverfation turned wholly upon thefe jack-boots; 'Charles telKng Augultus that he had not laid them a- fide for fix years, except when he went to bed. Thefe trifles were the only fubjear^ hij /Jacft Charles required Auguftus to 'wxvXit ^\eX.\&T K Vi 94 HISTORY of CHARLES XII. to Staniflaus. The dethroned King endeavoured lo evade the demand ; but Charles infiited upon his wri- ting the letter, and he was obliged to comply. Here follows an exadt tranfcript of it, which I have feen? It is copied from the original, which Is ftill in the pof- feilion of King Staniflaus. " Sir and Brother, " We little imagined it would have been neceflary ** to enter into a literary correfpondence with your ** Majefty ; neverthelefs, in order to pleafe his Majefty ** of Sweden, and to avoid the fufpicion of our being ** unwilling to gratify his defire, we hereby congratu- - " late you on your acceflion to the throne ; and with ** you may find in your -native country more faithfbl " fubjeoccs tru 1713-, when Aiiguttiss, JKivrTJg rcgaJtr*. ed his throne, caufed thefe teftimonies of the neceffity to which he had been reduced at Altranftad to be ga^ thercd together. They were brought to Warfaw in a» box, and delivered to him in preience of the French Envoy. The King of Poland, ihewing the box. to this;. Minifter, only faid, ** Thefe are the limbs of Patkul ;'* without adding any thing either to blame his condodl or to bewail his memory, and without any one dating^ to fpeak on fo delicate and mournful a fubjeO. About ibis time a Livouian ivuisicd Paikel, an o£Step KING OF SWEDEN. 97 in the Saxon troopsy who had been taken prifoner in the fieldy was condemned at Stockholm, by a decree of die Senate ; but his fentence was only to lofe his head. This difference of punifliments in the fame cafe made it but too plain, that Charles, in putting Patkul to inch a cruel death, was more anxious to avenge hinnfelf than to punifh the criminal. Be that as it may, Paikel, after his condemnation, propofed to the Senate to impart to the King the fecret of making gold, on condition that he (hould obtain his pardon. He made the experiment in prifon, in prefence of Colonel Ha- milton and the Magi Urates of the town ; and whether he had adhially difcovered fome ufeful fecret, or, which is more probable, had oidy acquired the art of decei- ving with ability, they carried the gold which was found in the crucible to the Mint at Stockholrn, and gave the Senate fuch a full, and feemingly fuch an im- portant account of the matter, that the Queen-dowa- - ger, Charles's, grand-mother, ordered his execution to be iufpended till the King Ihould be informed of this uncommon affair^ and fend his orders accordingly. The King made anfwer, " That as he had refufed ** the pardon of the criminal to the intreaties of his *' friends^ he .would never grant to intereft what he ** had denied to friendftiip.V This inflexibility had fomething in it very heroical in a Prince,, efpecially as he thougnt the fecret pradlicable. Auguftus, upon hearing this ftory, faid, " I am not furprifed at the ** King of Sweden's indifference about the philofopher*s ** ftone : he has.foulid it in Saxony." When the Czar was informed of the fkange peace which Auguftus had, notwithftanding their, foriuer treaties, concluded at Altranftad; and that PatkuV his Ambaffador Plenipotentiary, was delivered up to the King of Sweden, in contempt of the laws of na- tions 5 he loudly complained of thefe indignities to the feveral Courts of Europe. He wrote to the Emperor of Germany, to the Queen of England, and to the States-General of the United Provinces. He gave the terms of cowardice and treachery to the fad necefllty K 3 \ft 98 HISTORY of CHARLES XH. to which Auguftus had been obliged to fubmic Her conjured all thefe Powers to interpofe their medtattORi to procure the reftoration of bis Amba^ador, and to. prevent the afiront, which* in his perfon, was going to be o£Fered to crowned heads. He prefled theni, by the motives of honour, not to debafe themfelves fo far as to become guarantees of the treaty of Alcranftad ; a conceffion which Charles XII. meant to extort from them by his threatening and impeiious behaviour. Thefe letters had no other effeft than to fct the power of the King of Sweden in a ftrongcr light. The Em- peror, England, and Holland, were theij engaged in. a ruinous war with France, and judged it a very un- {eafonable jundhire to eiafperate Charle> XII. by refu- fing the vain ceremony of being guarantees to a treaty. With regard to the unhappy Patkul, there was not a, fingle Power which interpoied its good offices m his. behalf; from whence it appears what little confidence a fubjed ought to put in Princes, and how much all the Monarchs in Europe at that time flood in awe of" the King of Sweden. It was propofed in the council of the Czar to rctali-. ate this cruelty on the Swedifh Officers who w«?e pri- fbners at Mofcow ; but the Czar would not confent to, a barbarity which would have been attended with fatal: confequenccs, as there were more Mufcovites prifbners in Sweden, than Swedes in Mufcovy. He fludied a more advantageous revenge. The. main body of his enemy's army lay ina^ve in Saxony. Lewenhaupt, General of the King of Sweden, who^ \^\is left in Poland with about twenty tboufand men,, waf nor able to guard the pafles into a country with- ovt forts and full of famous. Stanifiaus was in the camp of Charles. The Emperor of Mufcovy fcized this opportunity ajid re-entered Poland with above 60,000 men. Thefe he divides into fcveral bodies, and marches with a fiying camp to Leopold, where there was no Swedifli garrifon. All the towns^ of Po- land yield to any one who appears before their gates at the iiead of an army* Ht c^w&d ^cgl a&mbly to be KING or SWEDEN. 99 convoked at Leopold, of much the fame natttre witli that which had dethroned Auguftus at Warfaw. Fbland had at that time two Primates as well as two Kings ; the one nominated by Auguftus, the other by Stamflaos. The Primate nominated by Aueuftus fum- zponed the Aflembly of Leopold, to which they, whonx that Prince had abandoned by the Peace of Altranftad,. and fuch as were brought over by the money of the: Czar, immediately repaired. Here it was ptopofed to cleft a new ^Sovereign ; fo. that Poland was upon the pointof having three Kings at once, without being a? blc to fay which was the real one. During the conferences at Leopold, the Czar, whofe intereft was clofely connefted with that oi the Empe- tpr of Germany, on account of the common dread which they entertained of the power of the King of Sweden, fecretly obtained from him a number of Gef? man Officers ; who daily arriving, increafed his ftrength- in a confiderable degree, by bringing with them dif. cipline and experience. Thefe he engaged in his fervice by feveral inftances of liberality ; and the more to en- tourage his own troops,, he ga\je his pidure, fet with diamonds, to all the General Officers and Colonels who had fought at the battle of Califh : the fubaltem Officers had medals, of gold, and every private foldier H medal of filver. Thefe monuments of the viftory of Califh were all ftruck in the new city of Pcterfturgh ; where the. improvement of the arts kept pace with the^ dcfire of glory and fpirit of emulation which the Czar bad inftilled into hk troops. The confufion, the multiplicity of faftions^ and the. continual ravages prevailing in Poland^ hindered tbe- piet of Leopold from coming lo any refolution. The Gzar therefore transferred it to Lublin. But the change of place did not leflen the diibrder and perplexity in which the whole nation was involved. The AfFembly^ contented itfelf with neither acknowledging Auguftus, who had abdicated the throne, nor Staniflausi who had been eie^d agamft their will ; but they were neither fofficiently unitedj. nor bad rcXolulion. enoxx^ xo tw<(^« £oo HISTORY OF CHARLES XII. minate another King. During thefe fruitlefs delibeni'^ tionsy the party of the Princes Sapieha, that of Offiaflcy,. thofe who fecretfy adhered to Auguftus» and the new fubjedls of Staniilaus all made war upon one another^; plundered each other's eftates, and completed: the ruin- of their country. The Swedifk troops commanded by, Lewenhaupt, one part of which lay in Liyonia» ano-. ther in Lithuania, and a third in Poland, were daily, in purfuit of the Ruffians, and fet fire to every thing, that oppofed Staniflaus. The Ruffians ruined their friends and foes without diftindion ; and nothing was to be feen but towns reduced to aihes, and wandering troops of Poles, deprived of all their fubftance, and de- tefting alike their two Kings, Charles XIL and the. Czar of Mufcovy. In order to quiet thefe commotions, and to fecure. the peaceable poifeffion of the throne, Staniflaus fet out from Altranftad on the fifteenth of July 1 707, accom- panied by General Renfchild, with (ixteen Swedifh re- giments, and fumiflied with a large fum of money. He was acknowledged wherever he came. The diif- cipline of his troops, which made the barbarity of the Mufcovites to be more fenfibly felt, conciliated the af- fe(5lions of the people. His extreme affability, in pro- portion as it was better known, reconciled to him al- moft all the different fadtions; and his money procu- red him the greateft part of the army of the Crown.. The Czar, apprehenfive of wanting provifions in a ' country which his troops had laid wafte, retired into Lithuania, where he had fixed the general rendezvous.. of his army, and where he refolved to eftablilh maga- ^ zines. This retreat left Staniflaus the undifturbed fo* vereign of almoft all Poland. llae only psrfon who gave him any uneaiinefs was Count Siniauflcy, Grand General of the Crown, by the nomination of Auguftus. This man, who was poffef-. fed of no contemptible talents, and entertained die moft. ambitious views, was at the head of a third party. He j3eJther acknowledged Auguflus nor Staniflaus ; and, .after hdving ufed his utmoft. ^ffoitsia order to procure EING Of SWEDEN. io» e£tion» contented himfelf with being the head party, fince he could not be King. The :roo'ps of the Crown, which continued under his com- mand, had no other pay but the liberty of pillaging iheir own country with impunity ; and all thofe who !iad either fuffered, or were apprehenfive of fuffering, From ^e rapacity of thefe fneebooters, foon fubmitted to Staniflaus, whofe power was gathering (Irength e- Rery day. The King of Sweden was then in his camp at Al- tranftad, rectiiring Ambafladors from almoft all the Princes in Chriftendom ; fome intreating him to quit the Empire, others defiring him to turn his arms againft the Emperor; and it was then the general report^ that be intended to join with France in humbling the Houfe of Audria. Among thefe Amba/Tadors came die famous John Duke of Marlborough, on the part of Anne, Queen of Great Britain. This man, who never befieged a town which be did not take, nor fought a battle which he did not gain, was at St James's a per* fedt courtier, in parliament the head of a party, and in foreign countries the mod able negociator of his tune. He has done France as much mifchief by hiir politics as by his arms. Mr Fagel, Secretary of the States-General, a man of the greateft merit, has been heard to fay, that when the States- General had more ihan once refblved to oppofe the fchemes which the Duke was about to lay before them, the Duke came, fpoke to them in French, a language in which he expref- Kd himfelt but very indiiferently, and yet he brought them all over to his opinion. Of the. truth of this ftory l^ord Bolingbr^ke a/Tured me. In conjuD^ion with Prince Eugene, the companion of his vi^ries, and Heinfius, the Grand Penfionary of Holland, he fupported the whole weight of the war which the Allies carried on again ft France. He knew that Charles was incenfed againft the Empire and the Emperor ; that he was fecretly folitited by the French i and that if this conqueror fUould efpoufe^ tl\fi tot HISTORY OF CHARLES XH." the caufe of Louis XIV. the Allies muft be entire!/ ruined. Charles indeed had given his word in 1 70Q, thath€ would not intermeddle in the quarrel between Louis XIV. and the Allies ; but the Duke of Marlborough could not believe that any Prince would be fo great a flave to his word as not to facrifice it to his gprandeur and intereft. He therefore fet out from the Hague with a refolution to found the intentions of the King of Sweden. M. Fabricius, who then attended Charles XII. affured me, that the Duke of Marlborough, on his arrival, applied fecretly, not to Count Piper, the Prime Minider, but to Baron de Gortz, who now bc- fan to fliare with Pipier the confidence of the King; le even went to the quarters of Charles XII. in the coach of this nobleman ; where there pafTed fome marks of coldnefs between the Duke and the Chan» cellor Piper ; by whom however being afterwards pre- - fen ted, together with Robinfon the Englifh Minifter, he fpokc to the King in French. He told him, " that ** he Ihould efteem it a fingular happinefs, to have an ** opportunity of learning under his command fuch '* parts of the art of war as he did not yet underftand." To this polite compliment the King made no return, <• and feemed to forget that it was Marlborough who was ipeaking to him. He even thought, as I have been told, that the drefs of this . great man was too much ftudied, and that it had too little the air of a ■ foldier. The coilverfation was tedious and embarraf- fmg, Charles Xll. fpeaking in the Swedilh tongue, and Robinfon ferving as an interpreter. Marlborough, who was never in a hade to make propofals ; and whor by a long courfe of experience, had learned the art of diving into the real chara<5lers of men, and difcover-' ing the connexion between their moft fecret thoughts and their adions, geftures, and difcourfe, regarded the King with the utmoft attention. When he fpoke to him of war in general, he thought he perceived in his Majefty a natural averfion to France ; and re« xnarked that he talked wi\li i^\^2&it^ of the conquefts KING OF SWEDEN. 103 t>f the AlIUs. He mentioned the Czar to him, and dbferved that his eyes always kindled at the name, not- withftanding the calmnefs of the converfatiop. He re- xnarkedy befides, a map of Mufcovy lying before him upon the table. He wanted no more to convince him that the real defign and fole ambition of the King of Sweden was to dethrone the Czar, as he had done the King of Poland* He was fenfible that if Charles re- mained in Saxony, it was only to impofe fome hard conditions on the Emperor of Germany. He knew the Emperor could make no refiftance, and that thus all . difputes would be eafily accommodated. He left 'Charles therefore to follow the bent of his own mind ; and, fatisfied with having difcovered his intentions, made him no propofals. Thefe particulars I had from the Duchefs of Marlborough his widow. As few negociations ate finilhed without money, and as Minifters are fometimes known to fell the ha- tred or favour of their mafters, it was the general o- pinion throughout Europe, that the Duke of Marlbo- rough would not have fucceeded fo well with the King . of Sweden, had he not made a handfome prefent to Count Piper, whofe memory ftill labours under the . imputation. For my own part, after having traced this report to its fource, with all the care and accura- .cy of which I am^mafter, I found that Piper received a (mail prefent from the Emperor, by the hands of "the Count de Wratiffau, with the confent of his mai^ ter, but nothing from the Duke of Marlborough!. Certain it is, Charles was fo firmly refolved to de- . 'throne the Emperor of Ruflia, that he afked nobo- jdy's advice on that . fubjed, nor wanted the inftiga- . tion of Count Piper to prompt him to wreak his -long-mediteted vengeancc^n the head of Peter Alexio- witz. But what fully juftifies the charaAer of that Minif- , ter was, the honour which, long after this period, V -was paid to his memory by Charles XH. who having ^ iieard that Piper was dead in RuiHa, caufed his body 104 HISTORY o^ CHARLES XIL to be trahfported to Stockholm, «nd gaviehima mag^^ niHcent funeral at his own expence. The King, who had not as yet experienced any re- "verfe of fortune, nor even met with any interruption in his vidories, thought one year would be fufficient for dethroning the Czari after which, he imagined he might return and fet himfclf up as the arbiter of Europe. But, firfl of all, he refolded to humble the Emperor of Germany. Baron de Stralenheim the Swedifli Envoy at Vien- na, had quarrelled at a public entertainment with the Count de Zobor, Chamberlain of the Emperor. The latter having refufed to drink the health of Charles Xlt and having declared that that Prince had ufed his maf- ter very ill, Stralenheim gave him at once the lie anda box on the ear, and, befides this infult, boldly de- manded a reparation from the Imperial Court. The fear of difpleafing the King of Sweden obliged the Emperor to banim his fubjeft, whom he ought rather to have avenged. Charles was not fatisfied with this condefcenfion, but infixed that Count 2k>bor fhould be delivered up to him. The pride of the Court of Vienna was forced to ftoop. The Count was put in- to the hands of the King, who fent him back, after having detained him fome time a prifoner at Stettin. He like wife further demanded, contrary to the law of nations, that they fhould deliver up to him fiftecfc hundred unhappy Mufcovites, who, having elcaped the fury of his arms, had fled into the Imperial terri- tories. The Emperor was obliged to yield even to this ftrange demand ; and, had not the Ruffian Ei> voy at Vienna dexteroufly given theie unhappy wretches an opportunity of efcaping by different roads, they muft have been delivefc traordinary. He declared himfelf the protedtor of the Emperor's Proteftant fobjefts in Silefia, a province belonging to the Houfe of Auftria, not to the Em* pi're. He infifted that the Em]ptiox ^w\^ ^t^SLXxVyaoi KING 6F SWEDEN. 105 ]hc liberties and privileges which had "been eftabliflied by the treaties of Wellphalia, but which w^ie ex- tinguifhcd, or at kaft eluded, b/ thofe of R;. nvick. The Emperor who wanted only to get rid of fuch a dangerous neighbouT, yielded once more, and grant- ed all he defired. The Lutherans of Silefia had above an hundred churches, which the Catholics were obliged to cede to them by this treaty : but of many of thefe advantages which were now procured them by tlie King of Sweden's good fortune, they were afterwards deprived^ when that Prince was no longer in a condi- tion to impofe laws. The Emperor who made thefe forced concefllons, and complied in every thing with the "will of Charles XII. was Jofeph, the eldeil fon of Leopold, and bro- ^ ■ther to Charles VI. who (ince fucceeded him. The Pope's Inter-nuncio, who then refided at the court of Jofeph, reproached him in very fevere terms, alledg- ing that it was a moft ihamefiil condefcenfion for a Catholic Emperor, like him, to facrifice the intereft of his own religion to that of hereticks. ** You may ** think youxfelf very happy," replied the Emperor, -wi^h a fmilc, " that the King of Sweden did not pro- " pofe to make me become a Lutheran; for if he had, ** I do not know what I ftiould have done." The Count de Wratiflau, his Ambaflador with Charles XII. brought to Leipfick the treaty in favour of the Silefians, figned with his mafter's hand ; upon -which Charles faid, he was the Empeior':, befl friend. He was far from being pleafed, however, thnt the Court of Rome (hould have employed all its arts and intrigues in order to traverfe his fchemc. He looked with the utmoft contempt upon the weaknefs of that Court ; which, having one half of Europe for its ir- reconcileable enemy, and placing no c( .\fidcncc in the other, can only fupport its credit by the. Rnelfe c£ its negociations ; and yet he refolved to be revenged on his Holinefs. He told the Count de Wr.aii.l*u, that " the Swedes had formerly fubdued Roi.iL.> and had ** not degenerated like her." He fcnt the Po\i^c vno^vi^ L ^^ x^x^x io6 HISTORY OP CHARLES XIL <« that he would one day re- demand the tffc&s which «« Queen Chriftina had left at Rome ;" and it is hard to fay how far this young conqueror would have car- ried his refentment and his arms, had fortune favour- ed his defigns. At that time nothing appeared im- poflible to him. He had even fent feveral Officers pri- vately into Afia and Egypt, to take plans of the towns, and to examine into the ftrength of thefe coua- ' tries. Certain it is, that if any one had been able to overturn the Empire of the Turks and Periians, and afterwards to pafs into Italy, it had been Charles XII. He was as young as Alexander, as brave, as entepri- fmg, more indefatigable, more robuft, and more virtu- ous ; the Swedes alfo were perhaps better foldiers than the Macedonians. But fuch projeds, which are called divine when they fucceed, are regarded only as chime- rical when ihey fail of fuccefs. At length having removed every difficulty, and ac- compliHied all his defigns ; having bumbled the Em- peror, given laws in the Empire, protededthe Luthe- ran religion in the mid ft of the Catliolics, dethroned one King and crowned another, and rendered himfelf the terror of all the Princes around him, he began to prepare for his departure. The pleafures of Saxony, where he had remained inaftive for a whole year, had not made the leaft alteration in his manner of living. He rode out tlirice aday, rofe at four in the morning, dreffed himfelf with his own hands, drank no wine, fat at table only a quarter of an hour, exercifed his troops every day, and knew no other pleafure butdiat of making Europe tremble. The Swedes weie ftill ignorant whither their King intended to lead them. They had only a fufpicion that he meant to go to Mofcow. A few days befoie his departure, he ordered the Quarter-Mafter-Genenl to give him in writing the route from Leipfick.— At that word he paufed a moment : and, left the Quar- ter-mafter fhould difcover his projed, he added* with a fmile — to all the capital cities of Europe. The Quar- tcrmafter brought him a \\ft. of *U thcfe roQtes, at the KING OP SWEDEN. 107 head of which he placed, in great letters, " The route «« from Leipfick to Stockholm." The generality of Swedes were extremely defirous of returning home ; biit the King was far from intending to lead th^m back to their native country. " Mr Quarter-mafter," fays he, " I plainly fee whither you would lead me ; *• but we fhail not return to Stockholm fo foon." The army wab already on its march, and was paff- ing by Drefden, when Charles, who was at the head of his men, always riding, as ufual, two or three hundred paces before his guards, all of a fudden ▼ani(^ed from their fight. Some Officers advanced at full- gallop to fee where he was. They ran to all parts, bat could net find him. In a moment the alarm was ipread over the whole army. The troops were order- ed to halt ; the Generals aflembled together, and were already in the utmoft confternation. At length, they learned from a Saxon, who was pafling by, what was become of the King. As he was pading fo near Drefden, he took it into his head to pay a vifit to Auguftus. He entered the town on horfeback, followed by three or four General O^Bcers. The centries of the gate a(ked them their names. Charles iaid his name was Carl, and that he was a Draban ; and all the reft took fiiflitious names. Count Fleming, feeing them pafs through the town, had only time to run and inform hismafter. All that could poffibly be done on fuch an occafion immediate- ly prefented itfelf to the mind of that Minifter, who fuggefted it to Auguftus. But Charles entered the chamber in his boots, before Auguftus had time to re- cover from his furprize. Auguftus was then fick, and in his night gown ; but drefled himfelf in hafte. Charles breakfafted with him, as a traveller who comes to take leave of his friend ; and then expreffed his de- fire of viewing the fortifications. During the fliort time he employed in walking round them, a Uvonian, who had been condemned in Sweden, and now ferved in the Saxon army, imagining that he could never find a more favourable opportunity of obtaining his par- L 2 dQti> io8 HISTORY OF CHARLES XIL don, entreated Auguftus to afk it of Charles ; perfua* ding himfelf that his Majefty would not refufe fo fmall a favour to a Prince from whom he had taken a Crewn, and in whofe power he now Teemed to be. Au- . guftus readily undertook to make the requeft. He was then at fome-diftance from the King, and wasconver- fmg with Herd', a Swcdifli General. " I believe," faid he fmiling, " your Matter will not refufe mtJ* ** You do not know him," leplied General Hord; " he is more likely to refufe you here than any-whcre " elfe." Auguftus, however, did not fail to prefer the petition in very pfeClng terms j and Charles rcfu- fed it in fuch a manner as to prevent a repetition of the requeft. After having paifed fomc hours in this ftrange vifit* he embraced Auguftus and departed* % Upon rejoining his army, he found all his Generals ftill in confternation. They told him they had deter- mined to befiege Drefden, if his Majefty had been de- tained prifoner. " Right," faid the King, " but they *' durft not." Next day, upon hearing the news that Auguftus held an extraordinary council^jat Drefden> •• You will find," faid Baron StralenheinA •* they ar« ** deliberating upon what they ftiould have done yef*- ** terday." A few days after Renfchild coming to wait upon the King, exprefled his furprife at this unac- countable vifit to Auguftus. " I confided," faid Charles, ** in my good fortune ; but 1 have fcen the " moment that might have been prejudicial to mei *' Fleming had no mind that I fhould leave Drefden « io foon." jSOOK KING OF SWEDEN. 109 BOOK IF. A R G U M E N r. Chirles quits Saxony. — Purfucs the Czar. — Penetrates into the Ukraine.— His Loffcs.— Is wounded. -*'J'he Battle of Pultowa. — C^nfcquences of that BattJe. — Charles is forced to fly into Turkey. — His Reccpticn in Bcflarabia. Charles at length took leave of Saxony, in Sep tember 1707, at the head of an army-of forty-three thouland men, formerly covered with fteel, but now ihining with gold and filver, and enriched by the fpoih of Poland and Saxony ; every foldier carrying with hiih fifty crowns in ready ihoney. The regiments were not only complete, but every company had feveral fu- pemumeraries who waited for vacancie&.* Befides this army. Count Lewenhaupt, one of his beft Generals, waited for him in Poland with twenty thoufand men. ' He had adfo another army of fifteen thoufand in Fin- land ; and freih recruits were coming to him from Swe- den. With all thefe forces it was nOt doubted but that he would dethrone the Czar. ■ That Emperor was at that time in Lithuania, endea- vouring to reanimate a party which Augufius appear- ed to have abandoned. His troops, divided into ieve- veral bodies, fled on all fides, at the firfl news of the King of Sweden^s approach. He had himfelf enjoined his Generals never to wait for this conqueror with un- equal forces : and he was accordingly obeyed. The King of Sweden, in the midft of his vidoriout march, received an AmbafFador. on the pan of the Turk. This . AmbafFador had his audience in the tent of Count Piper, in which alj vifits of ceremony ivere received. On thefe occafions this Mintfler fupr ported the dignity of his mafler by the appearance cf a little magnificence, while the King, who was always worfe lodged, worfe ferved, and more plainly dreOTed thari the meanefl Officer in his army, ufed to fay» that his palace was at Count Piper's. The Turkifh Ambaf^ fador prefented Charles with, a hundred Swedifh UA» diers, who, having been taken by the Calmucks^ and ibid in Turkey, had been purcha&d by the Grand Sejg- 112 HISTORY OF CHARLES XII. culties, had provided bifcuit for the fuWiftencc of his army, fo that nothing could ftop his inarch. After having travel fed the foreft of Miniky, where he \i'as conftantly obliged to cut down the trees to clear the road for his troops and baggage, he found himfelf, on the 25th of June lyeS, on the hanks of the river Bere- zine, oppofite to Boriflow. The Czar had in this place aflembled the beft part of his forces, and intrenched himfelf to great advan- tage ; his defign being to hinder the Swedes from eroding the river. Charles polled fome regiments on the banks of the Berezine, ove^againft Boriflow, as if he meant to attempt a pafTage in the face x)f the ene- my. At the fame time marching his army three leagues higher up the river, he threw a bridge acrofs • it, cut his way through a body of three thotd&ndmeny who defended that pafs, and, without halting, march- cd on toward the main body of the enemy. The Rui^ . fians did not wait his approach^ but decamped and re- - treated towards the Borifthenes, breaking up the roads» and deftroying every thing in their wajp,. in order to > retard the purfuit of the Swedes. Charles furmounted all thefe obftacles, and advan- •■ ced towards the Borifthenes. He was oppofed in his ^ march by twenty thoufand Mufcovites,. intrenched at a place called HoUofin, behind a morafs, which could not be approached without paffing a- river. -Charles . did not delay the attack till the reft of his infantry fliould arrive, but plunged into the water at the head . of his guards, and croiled the river and the morafs, . the water frequently reaching above his (boulders. "While he was thus preffing forward to the enemy, he ordered his cavalry to go round the morafs, and attack them in flank. The Mufcovites, aftoniftied that no bariier could defend them, were inftantly rotited by . the King, who attacked them on foot with his guard^ . and by the Swedifh cavalry. Thefe having forced their way through the enemy, . joined the King in the midft of the battle. He then mounted en horfebackj but obicrving foon after a young KING OF SWEDEN. 115 young Swedifli gentleman, named Guillenftern, for whom he had a great regard, wounded and unable to walk, he obliged him to take his horfe, and continued to command on foot at the head of his infantry. Of all the battles he had fought, this was perhaps the mod glorious ; being that in which he encountered the great- eft dangers, and difplayed the mod confummate (kill and prudence. The memory of it is ftill preferved by a medal, with this infcription on one fide, Siha^ Pa^ ludeSi Aggeres^ Hofles viOi : on the reverfe the following verfe of Lucan, V'Ulrices copias aliuvi laturus in Orbetn. The Ruffians, thus driven from tlieir pofts, repafled the Boriithenes, which divides Poland from Mufcovy. But this did not induce .Charles to give over tlie pur- fuit ; who followed them acrofs that great river, which he pafFed at Mohilow, the laft town of Poland, and which alternately belongs to the Poles and to the Ruf- fians ; the ufual fate of frontier towns. The Czar feeing his Empire, in which he had lately eftablifhed the polite arts and a flourifhing trade, thus expofed to a war, which, in a (hort time, might over- turn all his mighty projcds, and perhaps deprive him of his crown, began to think ferioufly of peace ; and accordingly ventured to make fome propolis to that purpofe by a Polifh gentlemen, whom he fent to the Swediih army. Charles, who had not been accuftomed to make peace with his enemies except in their own capitals, replied, ** I will treat with the Czar at Mof- cow." When this haughty anfwer was reported to the Czar, he faid, " My brother Charles always aflPedls to «• play the part of Alexander ; but I flatter myf^lf he •* will not find in me another Darius." Fiom Mohilow, where the King pafTed the Borfthe- nes, as you advance towards the north, about thirty leagues along the banks of that river, ftill on the fron- tiers of Poland and Mufcovy, you enter the country of Smolenfko, through which lies the great road that leads from Poland to Mufcovy. This way the Czar direded his flight ; and the King purfued him by long marches y fo that part of the Ruflian rear-guard was 114 HISTORY OF CHARLES^ XTI. ficqaentlf engaged with the dragoons of the van-guard of the Swedes. The latter had generally the advan- tage, but they were weakened even bj vidory in thefe fmall ikinnifiies, which were n^ver decifive, and in which they conftantly loft a number of men. On the 3 2d of September 1708, the King attacked a body o£ ten thoofand hoiie» and dx. thouiknd Cal^ mucks, near Smolenfko. The Calmucks are Tartars, living between the king* dom of Aftracan, fubjed to the Czar, and that of £^- marcand?, belonging to the Un>eck Tartars, and the country of Timiir, known by the name of Tamerlane. The country of the Calmucks extends eaftward to the mountains which divide tlie dominions, of the Mogul from the weftem parts of Afia. llie inhabitants of that part of the coimtry which borders upon Aftracan are tributary to the Czar, who lays claim to an abfblute authority over them.; but tbeir vagrant life hinders him from making it good, and obliges him to treat them in the fame manner in which the Grand Seignior treats the Arabs; fometimes conniving at, and fometimes puniihing their depreda- ' trons. There are always fome of thefe Calmucks in the RuSian army ; and the Czar had even reduced them to a regular difcipline, like the reft of his foldiers. King Charles attacked thefe troops with only fix re- giments of horfe and four thouiand foot ; broke the Mufcovites at the firft onfet, at the head of his regi- ment of Oftrogothia, and obliged them to fly. He pur- fued them through rugged and hollow ways, where the Calmucks awhile concealing themfelves, foon re-ap- peared, and cut off the regiment at the head of which the King fought from the reft of the Swedifti army. The Ruffians and Calmucks jointly fur rounded this regiment and forced their way even to the King's per- fon. Two Aids de-camp fighting near him fell at his feet. The King's horfe was killed under him ; and as one of his Equerries was prefenting him with another, both the Equeiry and horfe were Ihot dead upon the fpot. KING OF SWEDEN. 115 fpot. Charles then fought on foot, furrounded by his OfEcers, who inftantly flocked around hihi. Many of them were taken, wounded, or flain, or pufhed to a great di (lance from the King by the crowds that aifailed them ; (b that he was foon left with no more than five attendants. With his own hand he had, killed above twelve of die enemy, without receiving a dfigle wound ; owing to that furprizing good fortune which had hitherto attended him, and upon which he conftantly relied. At length, a Colonel named Dar- dof broke his way through the Calmucks, and with a fingle company of his regiment arrived time enough to (kve the King. The reft of the Swedes put the Tar- tars to the fword. The army recovered its ranks; Charles mounted his horfe, and, fatigued as he was, purfued the Ruffians for two leagues. The Conqueror was ft ill in the great road to the ca- pital of Mufcovy. But the diftance from Smoleniko, . ^ear which the battle was fought, to Mofcow, is about . an hundred French leagues ; and the army began to be . in want of provifions. Count Piper earneftly entreat- . ed the King to wait till General Lewenhaupt, who was . bringing him fupplies together with a reinforcement of fifteeil thoufand men, (hould arrive. The King, who feldom indeed took counfel of any, not only rejcded this wholefome advice, but, to the great aftoniftiment of all the army, quitted the road to Mofcow, and be- gan to march fouthward towards the Ukraine, the ' country of the Coflacks, lying between Little Tartary, -Poland, and Mufcovy. This country extends about . an hundred French leagues from north to fouth, and almoft as many from eaft to weft. It is divided into two parts, nearly equal, by the Borifthenes, which runs from the north-weft to the fouth-eaft. . The chief town is Bathurin, fituated upon the little river Sem. The moft northern part of the Ukraine is rich and well cultivated. The, fouthernmoft, lying in the forty- eighth degree of latitude, is one of the moft fertile • countries in the world, and yet one of. the moft defo- late. its wretched form of government ftiftes in em- ii6 HISTORY OP CHARLES XII. bryo all the bleffings which nature, if properly encoa- ragedy would bring forth for the inhabitants. The people of thefe cantons indeed neither fow nor plant, becaufe the Tartars of Budziack, Precop, and Molda^ via, being all of them free-booters and banditti, would rob them of their harvefts. The Ukraine hath always afpired after liberty ; but being furrounded by Mufcovy, the States of the Grand Seignior, and by Poland, it has been obliged to chufe a Prote<5tor, and confequently a Mafter, in one of thefe tliree States. The inhabitants at firft put themfelves under the prote^ion of the Poles, who treated them too much like vafFals. They afterwards fubmitted to the Ruffians, who governed them with as despotic a fway. They had originally the privilege of ele^ing a Prince under the name of General ; but they were foon deprived of that right ; and their General was nomi- nated by the Court of Mofcow, The perfon who then filled that ftation was a Polifh gentleman, named Mazeppa, bom in the PaUtinate of Podolia. He had been educated as Page to John Ca- fimir, and had received fome tincture of polite learn- ing in his court. An intrigue which he had had in his youth with the Lady of a Polifh Gentleman having been dllcovered, the hufband caufed him to be whip- ped with rods, to be bound (lark naked upon a wild horfe, and turned a-drift in that condition. Tlie horfe, which had been brought out of the Ukraine, returned to his own country, and carried Mazeppa with him, half-dead with hunger and fatigue. Some of the coun- try-people gave him aOiftance ; and he lived among them for a long time, fignalifing himfelf in feveral ex- curfions again ft the Tartars. The fuperiority of his knowledge gained him great refpe^ ai">iong the Cof- facks ; and his reputation greatly increafing, the Czar found it necefTary to make him Prince of the Ukraine. Being one day at table with the Czar at Mofcow, the Emperor propofed to him the tafk of difciplining the CofTacks, and rendering them more docile and de- jie/3dant. Mazeppa lej^lUd, that the fituation of the KING OF SWEDEN. 117 Ufcrainte, and the genius of the nation, were infupera* blfe obftacles to fuch a fcheme. The Czar, who began to be over-heated with wine, and had not, when fober, always the command of his padions, called him a trai- tor, and threatened to have him impaled. Mazeppa, on his return to the Ukraine, formed the defign of a revolt ; the execution of which was greatly facilitated by the Swedilh army, that foon after ap- peared on the frontiers. He refolved to render hirn- felf independent, and to ere.Vv ^^ut five thou- KING OP SWEDEN. 121 {and foldiers that remained. The Czar loft about ten thouiand men in thefe five engagements, in which he had the glory of conquering the Swedes ; and Leweii- baupl that of difputing the vidlory for three days, and of eflFeding a retreat without having been forced in his laft poft. Thus he arrived at his mafter's camp witli the honour of having fo bravely defended himfelf, but - bringing with him neither ammunition nor army. The King of Sweden thus found himfelf deftitute of provifions, cut off from all communication with Poland^ and furrounded with enemies, in the heart of a country where he had no other refource than his own courage. In this extremity, the memorable winter of 1709, which was ftill more fevere in that part of Europe than in France, deftroyed numbers of his troops ; for Charles refolved to brave the feafons, as he had done his ene- mies, and ventured to make long marches during this mortal cold. It was in one of thefe marches that two thoufand men fell down dead with cold almod before his eyes. The dragoons had no boots, and the in-^ fantry were without Ihoes, and almofl without clothes. They were forced to make (lockings of the fkins of wild > beads, in the beft manner they could^ and they were frequently in want of bread. They had been obliged to dirow almoft all their cannon into the marihes and rivers, for want of horfes to draw. them ; fo that this once flourifliing army was reduced to twenty-four thoufand men ready to periih witli hunger. They no longer received any advices from Sweden, nor were able to fend any thither. • In this condition only one OiEcer complained. " What," faid the King to him, •* Are you uneafy at being fo far from your wife ? If ** you are a true foldier, 1 will lead you to fuch a dif. *« tance, that you (hall hardly be able to hear from • ** Sweden once in three years." The Marquis de B***,^ afterwards Ambaffador in ^ Sweden, told me, that a foldier ventured, in prefence of the whole army, to prefent to the King, with an atc.of complaint, a piece of bread that was black and mouldy, made oJf barley and oats, which was the onl^f M 3 ^^^^ 122 HISTORY OF CHARLES XII. food they then had, and of which they had not even st fufficiency. The King received the piece of iyread without the leaft emotion, eat every morfel of it, and then coolly faid to the foldier, ** k i« not good, but it *' may be eaten.*' This incident, trifling as it is, if in- deed any thing that increafes refpe^l and confidence can be called trifling, contributed more than all the red to make the Swedifh army fupport thofe hardfhips^ which would have been intolerable under any other General. In this fituation he at lail received news from Stock<^ holm ; but they brought only advice of the death of his firfter, the Duchefs of Holdein, who was carried off by the imall-pox, in the month of December 1-708^ nt the twenty-feventh year of her age. She was a Pnn- eefs as mild and gentle, as her brother was imperious, in his difpoficion and implacable in his revenge. He had always entertained a great affedion.for her; and was the more afflidted with her death, as, now begin- ning to tafte of misfortunes hknfelf, he was of courfe^ become a little more fufceptible. He was alfo informed, that money and troops bad been raifed in Sweden, agreeably to his orders; but^ nothing could peach his camp,, as between him and Stockholm there were near five hundred leagues ta march, and an enemy fuperior in number to engage. The Czar^ who was as a^ive as th^ King, after ha- ving fent frefh troops to the afliftance of the Confede- rates of Poland, who, under the command of General. Siniaufki, exerted their joint efforts ag-aind Staniilaus,. immediately advanced into the Ukraine, in the midft of this fevere winter, to make head againft th^ King of Sweden. H^e continued to purfue the politibal* fcheme he had formed of weakening his enemies by petty rencounters, wifely judging that the. Swedish ar- my mud in the end be entireTy ruined, as it eould not poflibly be recruited. The cold muft certainly havo* been very fevere, as it obliged the two monarchs to an ^ee to a fufpenfion of arm^.. But <;n the firll c^ Fe- bniary KING Of SWEDEN. laj. bruaiy they renewed their military operations, in the midft of froft and fnow. After feveral flight {kirniifhcs and- fome loffi*s> the- ILing perceived, in the month of Aprils that he had only eighteen thoufand Swedes remaining. Mazeppa alone, the Prince of the CoiTacks, fopplied them with provifions, wiijiout which affiUance the army muf{ have periihed with cold and hanger. At. this cenjunci> tnre the Czar made piopofals to Mazeppa, to return again nnder his authority. But whether it was that the terrible punilhment of the wheel, by which his friends had perifhed, made the Coflack apprehend the fame danger for himfelf, or that he was dedrous o€ revenging their deaths, he continued faithful to his »ew ally^ Charles, with his eighteen thoufand Swedes, had neither loft the defign nor the hope of penetrating t^ Mofcow. He therefore towards the tnd of May laid fVege to Pultowa, upon the river Vor (ka^ at the eaftera extremity of the Ukraine, and more than thirteen leagues from the Borifthenes. This country is inha- bited by the 2^poravians, the mod extraordinary peo-^ pk on the earth. They are a collection of ancient Ruflfiansy Poles, and Tartars, profefling a. fpecies of Chriftianity, and exercifing a kind of free-booting re^ Ambling that of the Buccaneers. They cleft a Chief, -whom they frequently depofe or ftrangle. They fuf^ fer no woman to live among them, but carry o£F all the children for twenty or thirty leagues around, and bring them up to tlieir owft manners. In the fummel' they always live in the open fields ; in the winter they (helter themfelvcs in large barns, which contain four or five hundred men. They fear nothing, live free^ and brave death for the fnrallcft booty, with the fiune intrepidity as Charles XII. did, in oider to obtain the power of beftowing crowns. The Czar gave them flxty thott&nd ilorins* in the hope to engage them ia bis intereft. They took his money,, but, through the intrigoes of Kfezeppa, immediately declared in favour of claries.; though tbcir f^rvice was o£ very Uttk cQ^i- 124 HISTORY OP CHARLES XII. fequencs, as thej efteem it a folly to fight for anf thiDg but plunder. It was no fmall advantage* how- ever, that they were prevented fiom doing harm. The number of their troops was at mod but about two thoufand. Ten of their Chiefs were prefented, one. morning, to the King ; but they had great diiBcuIty to prevail on them to remain fober, as they commonly begin the day by getting drunk. They were brought to the intrenchments, where they ihewed their dexte- rity in firing with long carbines ; for being placed u> pon the mounds, they killed, at the diftance of fix : hundred paces, fuch of the enemy as were pointed out. . To thefe banditti Charles added feveral thouiand Wa- - lachians, whom he had hired from the Cham of Little Tartar y. He then laid fiege to Pultowa with all thefe - troops of Zaporavians, Coifacks, and Walachians; . which, joined to his eighteen thoufand Swedes, made up an army of about thirty thoufand men, but an army in a wretched condition, and in want of every thing. . The Czar had formed a magazine in Pultowa, which if the King had taken, he would have opened himfelf a way to Molcow ; and have been able at lead, amidft the great abundance he would then have pofieiTed, to wait the arrival of the fuccours which he ftill expeded from Sweden, Livonia, Poraerania, and Poland. His only refource therefore being in the conqueft of Pul- towa, -he prefTed the fiege of it with great ardour. . Mazeppa, who carried on a correfpondence in that town, aflured him that he would foon be mafter of it. This hope re-animated the whole army ; for the fol- diers coufidered the taking of Pultowa as the end of all their niiferies. The King perceived, from the beginning of the fiege, that he had taught his enemies the art of war ; for, in fpite of all his precautions, Prince Menzikoff threw fuccours into the town ; by which means the. garrifon was (hong,^to the number of almoft five thou- - land men. Tl.ey made feveral fallies, and fometimes with fuc- - cc/i : they likewire fpiurv^ mm^^ \ but what rendered , KING o» SWEDEN. 125 the town impregnable was the approach of the Czar, who advanced with feventy thoufand men. Charles went to reconnoitre them on the twenty-feventh of May» the day of his birth, and beat one of their de- tachments ; but as he was returniira; to his camp, he received a (hot from a carbine which pierced his boot, and ihattered the bone of his heel. There was not the kafl: alteratioi^ obfervable in his countenance, from which it could be fufpe^ed that he was wounded ; he continued to give orders with great compofure, and after this accident remained near fix hours on horfe- back. One of his domedics obferving that the fole of the King's boot was covered with blood, ran to call the furgeons ; and the pain was now become fo exqui- fitc, that they were obliged to affift him in difmount- ing, and to carry him into his tent The furgeons ex- amined .the wound, and were of opinion that the leg muft be cut oS. The confternation of the army on this occafion was inexpreffible, till one of the furgeons named Newman, who had more fkilland courage tbatii the reft, affirmed, that by making deep incifions he could fave the King's leg. " Fall to work then pre- •* fently," faid the King to him, ♦* cut boldly, and •* fear nothing." He himfclf held his leg with both his bands, and beheld the incifions that were made in it, as if the operation had been, performed upon ano- ther perfoa. 'While they weire laying on the dreflings, he ordered! an aiTault to be made the ne^t day ; but he had hardly given this order, before he was informed that the whole army of the enemy was advancing againft him. It be- came then neceffary to alter his meafures. Charles, wounded and incapable of a^ing, faw htnifelf fitua^d between the Borifthenes and the river that runs to Pul- towa, in a defert country, without any places of fecu-^ rity, without ammunition, and in the face of an army which at once cut oflF his retreat and prevented his be- ing fupplied with provifions. In. this extremity he did Dot aCemble a council of war, as has been publifhed in foroe other accounts, hut 00 then\gb\btv»t^Tv\Vv^^^- I2t5 HISTORY OP CHARLES XIL ▼enth and eighth of July he fent for Velt-Marefchai ' Renfchild into his tent, and without deliberation, or the leaft difcompofure, ordered him to make the necef- fary difpofitions for attacking the Czar next day. Renf- child made no objedlions, and went to carry his orders into execution. At the door of the King's tent he met Count Piper, with whom he had had a mifunderftand- ing for fome time, which frequently happens between the Minifter and the General. Piper afked him if he had any news. *• No," faid the General coldly, and p.ifTed on to give his orders. As foon as Count Piper had entered the tent. " Has Renfchild told you no- ** thing ?" faid the King. " Nothing," anfwered Piper. " Well, then, I will tell you," replied the King : " To- " morrow we fhall give battle." Count Piper was ccr- rihed at fo defperate a refolution : but as he well knew it was impodible to make his mafler change his mind, he exprefled his furprize only by his (ilencey and left. Charles to fleep till break of day. It was on the 8th of July, 1709, that the decifivc battle of Pultowa was fought between the two moft extraordinary Monarchs that were then in the world: Charles XII. illuftrious from nine years of vi(5lories; Peter Alexiowitz from nine years of labours, taken to form troops equal to thofe of Sweden ; the one glori- ous for having given away dominions ; th6 other for having civilized his own ; Charles fond of dangers, and fighting for glory alone ; Alexiowitz not avoiding dan- gers, and making war only for advantage ; the Swe- dilh Monarch liberal from greatnefs of foul ; the Muf- covite never giving but with fome defign ; the one, mafter of a continence and fobriety beyond example^ of a magnanimous difpofition, and never cruel but once ; the other not having yet diverted himfelf from the barbarifm of his education and of his country, as much the obje(fl of terror to his fubjeds as of admire* tion to ftrangers, and too prone to exceffes, which even fhortened his days. Charles bore the title of ** Invin- ** cible," of which a fmgle moment might deprive him : the Jiefghbouring nauotvs Vi^id ^\v^ti^^x« ^edowitz KING OP SWEDEN. 127 the name of " Great," which, as he did not owe it to his vi«5lories, he could not k)fe by a defeat. To have a diftindl idea of this battle, and the place where it was fought, we muft figure to ourfelves Ful- towa on the north, the camp of the King of Sweden on the fouth, ftretching a little towards the eaft, his baggage about a mile behind him, and the river of Pultowa on the north of the town, running from eall to weft. The Czar had palFed the river about a league from Pultowa, towards the weft, and was beginning to form his camp. At break of day the Swedes appeared before the trenches with four iron cannon, which was the whole of their artillery ; the reft were left in the camp, with about three thoufand men, and four thcufand remain- td with the baggage ; fo that the Swediih army which advanced againft the enemy, confifted of about one and twenty thoufand men, of which there were about fixteen thoufand Swedes. The Generals Renfchild, Roos, Lewenhaupt, Schli- penback, Hoorn, Sparre, Hamilton, the Prince of Wir- temberg the King's relation, and fome others, the greateu part of whom had feen the battle of Narva, put the fubaltern Officers in mind of that day, where- in ?ight thoufand Swedes defeated an army of eighty thoufand Mufcovites in their intrenchments. The Of- ficcrs exhorted the foldiers by the fame motive, every one encouraging each other in their march. The King, carried in a litter at the head of his in- fantry, condu<5ted the march. A party of the cavalry advanced by his order to attack that of the enemy ; and the battle began with this engagement at half an hour paft four in the morning. The enemy's cavalry was pofted towards the weft, on the right fide of the Ruffian camp. Prince Menzikoff and Count Gallowin had placed them at certain diftances between redoubts lined with cannon. General Schlipenback, at the head of the Swedes, rufhed upon this body of cavalry. All ;tbofc who have ferved in. the Swedifti troops know 128 HISTORY OF CHARLES XIU that it is almoft impoflibk to withftand the fury of their firft attack. The Mufcovlte fquadrons were bro- ken and routed. The Czar, who ran up to rally them in perfon, had his hat pierced with a mnfket ball; Menziko£r had three hpries killed under him; the Swedes cried out ** Vidlory !" Charles did not doubt but that the battle was gain- ed : he had fenc in the middle of the night General Creuts, with five thoufand horfe or dragoons, who were to take the enemy in flank, while he attacked them in front ; but, as his ill fortune would have it, Creuts miftook his way, and did not appear. The Czar, who thought he was ruined, had time to rally his cavalry. He now in his turn fell upon that of At King, which, not being fupported by the detachment of Creuts, was broken in its turn. Schlipenback was taken prifoner in this engagement. At the fame time feventy-two pieces of cannon played from the camp u- pon the Swedifti cavalry ; and the Ruflian infantry^ opening their lines, advanced to attack that of Charles. TliC Czar now detached Prince MenzikofF to go and poft himfelf between Pultowa and the Swedes. Prince MenzikofF executed his matter's orders with dexteritf and expedition ; and not only cut off the communica- tion between the Swedifh army and the camp before Pultowa, but, having met with a corps de rpferve of three thoufand men, he furrounded them and cut them to pieces. If Menzikoff performed this exploit of his own accord, Ruflia owes its prefervation to him i if it was by the order of the Czar, he was an adverfary worthy of Charles XII. Meanwhile the Rufilan in- fantry came out of their lines, and advanced into the plain in order of battle. On the other hand, the Swc- dilh cavalry rallied within a quarter of a league from the enemy ; and the King, alfifted by Velt-Marefchal Kenfchild, made the neceifary difpolition for a general engagement. He ranged the remainder of his troops in two lines, his infantry occupying the center, and his cavalry the two wings. The Czar di:J^fcd Vws ^ccmy in the fame ICING OF SWEDEN. 129 Inanner ; he, however, had the advantage of numbers, and of feventy-two pieces of cannon, while tlie Swedes had no more than four to oppofe him, and began to be in want of powder. The Emperor of Mufcovy was in the center of his army, having then only the title of Major-Gcneral, and ibemed to obey Greneral Zeremetoff. But he rode from rank lo rank in the charaAer of Emperor, mount- ed on a Turkiih horfe which was a prclent from the Orand Seignior, animating the captains and foldiers, and promiling rewards to them ail. At nine in the morning the battle was renewed. One of the firft difcharges of the Ruffian cannon car- ried off the two horfes of Charles's litter. He caufcd two others to be put to it. A fecond difchargc broke the litter in pieces, and overturned the King, Of four- and-twenty Drabants, who relieved each other in car- rying him, onc-and-twenty were killed. The Swedes, ftmck with confternatlon, began to dagger ; and the cannon of the enemy continuing to mow them down, the firll line fell back upon the lecond, and the fecond began to Ay. In this laft a3ci^ QXx-jc^. N cvt^ ^ .130 HISTORY OF CHARGES xn. eery, had left the camp, and neither knew what to 3(h nor what was become of the King, but ran about from one corner of the field of battle to the other. A Ma- jor, named Bere, offered to condu^ them to the bag- gage ; but the clouds of duft and fmoke which cover- ed the country, and the confufion of mind fo natural «midft fuch confternation, brought them diredly to the counterfcarp of the town, where they were all made prifoners by the garrifon. The King refufed to fly, and was unable to defend himfelf. It was at this inftant that General Poniatowf- ky, happened to be near him, Colonel of Stanidaus't Polilh guards, a man of extraordinary merit, who had been induced, from his attachment to the perfon of Charles, to follow him into the Ukraine, without pof- fefling any command. He was a man, who, in all the occurrences of life, arid amid ft thofe dangers in which others would at mod have difplayed their courage, al- ways took his refolution with difpatch, prudence, and fnccefs. He made a fign to two Drabants, who took the King under the arms and placed him on horfeback, notwithftanding the extreme pain of his wounds. Poniatowfky, though he had no command in the army, became on this occafion a General through n^ ceffity, and rallied five hundred horfe near the King's perfon ; fome of them Drabants, others Officers, and a few private troopers. This body being afTembled, and animated by the misfortune of their Prince, made their way through more than ten Ruffian regiments, and conduced Charles through the mid ft of the enemy for the fpace of a league to the baggage of the Swediih army. Charles, being purfued in his flight, had his horfe killed under him; Colonel Gieta, though wounded and fpent with lofs of blood, gave him his. Thus in the courfe of the flight they twice put this conqueror on horfebacTc, who had not been able to mount a horfe during the engagement. This furprifing retreat was of great confequence in /fucb diftrei'sful circum&atic^s \ Wx. \i^ ^^ <2kV\v^^d to KING OF SWEDEN. 131 ffjr ftill farther. They found Count Piper's coach a- mong the baggage ; for the King had never ufcd on» (ince he left Stockholm : they put him into this vehicle;^ and took their route towards the Borifthenes with great precipitation. The King, who from the time they put him on horfeback till his arrival at the baggage had not fpoke a (ingle word, at length enquired what was become of Count Piper. They told him he was taken prifoner, with all the Officers of the Chancery. " And " General Renfchild and the Duke of Wirtemberg?" added the King. **^ They are alfo prifoners," faid Po- niatow&y. " Prifoners to the Ruffians!" returned Charles, (hrugglng up his fhoulders : ** Come then, let ** us rather go to the Turks." They could not per* ceive, however, the leaft mark of dejedlion in his coun- tenance ; and whoever had feen him at that time, with- out knowing his fituation, would never have fufpe<5lcd that he was conquered and wounded. While he was getting off, the Ruffians feized his ar- tillery in the camp before Pultowa, his baggage, and his military chefts, in which they found fix millions in fpecie, the fpoils of the Poles and Saxons. About nine thoufand men, Swedes and Coflacks, were killed in the battle, and about (rx thoufand taken prifoners. There ftill remained ^bout (ixteen thoufand men, including the ' Swedes, Poles, and Coffacks, who fled towards the Bo- riftlienes, under the condudl of General Lewenhaupt.* He marched one way with thefe fugitive troops, and the King took another road with fome of his horfe. The coach in which he rode broke down in their marchj and they again fet him on horfeback. To complete hitf misfortune, he wandered all night in a wood ; where, his courage being no longer able to fupport his exhaulled fpirits, the pain of his wound becoming more intolerable through fatigue, and his horfe falling under him through wearinefs, he lay feveral hours at the foot of a tree, in danger of being furprifed every moment by the conquerors, who were fearching for him oa all .fides. Na.- At 132 HISTORY OF CHARLES XH. At laft, in the night of the ninth or tenth of JxAyy ht found himfelf oppofite to the Borifthenes. Lewcn- haupt had juft arrived with the remains of his army. The Swedes beheld with a mixture of joy and grief their King, whom they had believed dead. The enemy was approaching, and the Swedes had neither a bridge to pafs the river, time to make one> powder to defend themfelves, nor provifion to fupport an army which had eat nothing for two days. At the fame timethc remains of this army were Swedes, and the conquered ' King was Charles XI L Almoft all the Officers ima- gined that they were to wait there with firmnefs fot the Ruigans, and that they fhould either conquer or die on the banks of the Borifthenes. There was no doubt but Chailcs would have taken this refolution, had he not been exhaufted with weakncfs. His ^a-ound was now come to fuppuration, attended whh a firx'er^ and it hath been remarked, that men of the great- eft intrepidity^ when fdzed with a fever, which is common in fuppuration, lofe that inftindl: of valour, •which, like other virtues, requires the dirc^lion of a clear head. Charles was now no longer himfelf. It is what I have been afTured of, and what is moft probably the truth. They canied him along like a iick perfon in a ftate of infenfibility. There was yet, by good luck, a forry calafh, which they accidental- ly had brought thilher with ihcm. This they put on board a tittle boat; and the King and General Mazeppa embarked in another. The latter had faved feveral cofieTs full of money ; but the current being too rapid, and a violent wind beginning to rife, the CofTack threw more than three fourths of his trca- fnres into the river to lighten the boat. Mullern, the King's Chancellor, and Count Poniatowfky, a man more necefl'ary to the King than ever, by the refources which his ingenuity furnilhed in every difficulty, croiT- ed over in other barks, with fome officers. Three hun- dred of the Swedilh cavalry, and a great number of ro]cs and CcfTacks, trufting to the goodnefs of their horfcs, ventured to pats \.\i^ tw.^v^o^j ^NKVKvmln^. Their KING OP SWEDEN. 1-33 iroopy keeping clofe together, refided the current and bi:ok€ the waires ; but all thofe who attempted to pafs aJittle below, were carried down by the ftream, and ppriihed in the river. Of the infantry who rifkcd th« p^flage, not one arrived on the oppofite (hone. While the (battered remains of the army were in this extremity. Prince MenzikoflF, approached with ten thoufand horfemen, having each a tbot-foldier behind him. The carcafes of the Swedes, who had died by the way of tlieir wounds, fatigue, and hunger, fufficiently apprized him of the road which the fugitive army had taken. The Prince fent a trumpet to the Swedifh Ge- neral, to offer him a capitulation. Four General Offi^ ccrs were immediately, dil patched by Lewenhaupt to receive the commands of the conqueror. Before that . day, fixteen thoufand foldiers of King Charles would have attacked the whole forces of the Ruflian Empire, , and would have periflred to a man rather than furren- der. But after, the Jo fs of a battle, and flight of two days, deprived of the prefence of their Prince, who was himfelf conllrained to flf, the (Irength of every foldier being exhauftedV and their courage no longer fupported by^ hope, the love of life overcame their na- tural intrepidity. Colonel Ti-outefette alone, fmce Go- vernor of Stialfund, obferving the Mufcovites approach, advanced with one Swedifk battalion to attack them, hoping by. this means to induce the reft of> the troops to follow his example. But Lewenhaupt was obliged to oppc^e this miavailing ardour. The capitulation was fettled, and xh6 whcwe army were made prifoners of war. Some foldiers, indefpair at the thoughts of falling into the hands of the Mufcovites, precipitated themfelves into the Borifthenes. Two Officers of the regiment of the brave Troutefette killed each other^ and the reft were made flaves. • They all filed oflF in the prefence- of Prince MenzikoflF, laying their arms ar bis feet, as thirty thoufand Mufcovites had done ninei years before at thofe of the King of Sweden at Narva ^ . yutJx. this difference, that the King difmifled all thefo N.3 ^ Mufcovitc * 134 HISTORY ov CHARLES XII. Mufcovite prifoners, whom he did not fear, and the Czar retained the Swedes who were taken the Duke of Marlborough, and drawn on Mufcovy the arfws of Swe-- den, which might have given peace to Europe. Hcj therefore, rendered his confinement tlie more feverc. This Minifter died a few years after in MufCovy, little affifted by his own family, who lived in opu'n:nce a^ Stockholm, and vainly lamented by his King, who would never condefcend to offer a ranfofti for his Mi- nifter, which he feared the Czar would not accept of; •as no cartel of exchange had ever been fettled between Charles and the Czar. The Emperor of Mufcovy, elated with a joy wOiich he took no pains to conceal, received upon the field of battle the prifoners, whom they brought to him in crouds ; and alked every moment, " Wh^re then is «< my brother Charles :" He did the Swedith Getver^U the honour of inviting KING OF SWEDEN. 135 them to his table. Among other queftions which he put to them, he afked General Renfchil having by his fide Major-Geiveral Hoid^'«lva>K'a.^ J $6 HISTORY OP CHARLES XIT. dangeioufly wonnded. The reft of his party followed, foxne on foot» fome on horfeback, and others in wag- gons, through a defert, where they neither faw hots, tents, men^ beafts,. nor roads ; every thing was want- ing, even water itfelf. It was now the beginning of July; the country lay in the forty-feventh degree of latitude ; the dry fand of the defert rendered the heat of the fun more infupportable ; the horfes dropt down by the way ; and the men were ready to die with thirft. A brook of* muddy water, wHich they found tow.v^ds evening, was their only refource ; they filled fome bladders with this water, which faved the lives of the Sling's little troop. After a march of five days, he at laft found himfelf on the banks of the river Hypanis, now called Bogh by the barba:ri»ns, who have disfign* - red the very names of thofe countries which once flo»- riftied fo nobly in the poffefllon of the. Greek colonies. This river joins the Borifthenes fome miles lower, and i falls along v^th it into the Black Sea. On the other fide of the Bogh, toward*- the fouth, . .ftfinds the little town of Oczakou, a frontier of the • Tuikifh Empire. The inhabitants feeing a. troop of: fold iers approach, to whofe drefs and l^guage they were ftrangers, refufed to carry them over the river without an order from Mehemet Pacha, Governor of Oczakou. The king fent an exprefs to the Governor, to demand a pailage. This Turk„ not knowing what to do, in a country where one falfe ftep frequently cofts- a man his life, did not dare to take any thing upon himfelf, without having fird obtained the permiffionof the Serafkier of the. province, who refides at Bender in !BefIkrabia. While they were waiting for this permif- fion, the Ruffians, who had made the King's army pr\- foner, had croiFed the Borifthenes, and were approach- ing to take him alfo*. At laft the Pacha of Oczakoa f^nt word to the King, that he would furnifh him with one fniall boat, to tranfport himfelf and two or three of his attendants. In this extremity the Swedes took by jforce what th^y could not obtain by.gentle means : fome oJt^tiein went overto xW£\>x\ii^x ^d^.ina.fmall fkift KING OF SWEDEN. 137 feizcd on fome boats, and brought them to the hither bank of the river. This proved their fafe-guard ; for the maflers of the Turkifti barks, fearing they fhould k>fe fbch a favourable opportunity of getting a good freight, came in crowds to offer their fervice. At the fame time precifely arrived a favourable anfwer from the Serafkier of Bender : but the Mufcovites appeared, and the King had die mortification to fee Eve hundred of his men feized by the enemy, whofe infulting brava- does he even heard. Ilie Pacha of Oczakou, by means of an interpreter, afked his pardon for the delays which had occafioned the lofs of thefe five hundred men, and humbly intreated him not to complain of it to the Grand Seignior. Charles pron'Jfed, though ifot with- out giving him as f<;rere a reprimand as if he had been fpeaking to one of his own r«il)jcdls. 'Vht Comr\i3ndcr of Bender, who was likewife Seraf^ kier, a title which anfwers to that of General and Pa- cha of the Province, which fignifics Governor and In- tendant, immediately fent an Aga to compliment the King, and to offer hira a magnificent tentj with pro- vifion, baggage waggons, and all the conveniencies, rfHcers, acd attendants ncceflary to conduct him to Bender in a fplendiJ manner; for it is the cuftom of the Turks, not only to defray the charges of Ambafladors to the place of their rcTidence, but likewife to fupply, with great liberality, the necefSties of thofe Princes who take refuge among them, during the time of their flay. BOOK i3« HISTORY OF CHARLES XIT: BOOK V. A R G U M E N )\ State of the Ottoman Porte— Charles takes up his Abode near- Bender — His Employments— His Intrigues at the Porte— Hii>* Dcfigns — Auguflus regains his Throne— The King of Den- mark makes a Defcent upon Sweden— All the other Domimocs of Charles are attacked — The Czar enters Mofcow in Triumph -^The Affair of Pruth — Hiftory of the Czarina, who from a Peafant became an Emprcfs. ACHMET III. at that time governed the Turkift^ Empire. He had been placed upon the throne iB* 1 703, in the room of his brother Muftapha, by a re volution like to that which transferred the crown of England from James II. to his fon-in-law William. Muftapha, by fubmitting in every thine to his Mufti» whom the Turks abhorred, provoked the whole Em- pire to rife againfl him. His army, by ihe afHilancc of which he hoped to punUh the malecontents, joined his enemies. He was feized and depofed in form, and his brother taken from the Seraglio in order to be created Sultan, almoft without fpilling a fingle drop of blood. Achmet fhut up the depofed Sujtan in the Seraglio at Conftantinople, where he lived,for feveral years, to the great aftcnidiment of Turkey, which had been accuftomed to fee the death of h^r Princes imme- diately follow their dethronement. Tl)e new Sultan, as the only recompence for a crown which he owed to the Minifters, to the Generals, to the Officers of the Janlfliiries, and, in a word, to thofe who had had any hand in the revolution, put them all to death, one after another, for fear they fhould one day attempt a fecond revolution. By the facrifice of fo many brave men he weakened the ftrength of the nation, but at the fame time eftablifhed.his throne, at leaft for fome years. He next applied himfelf to a- mafs riches, and was the firft of the Ottoman race who ventured to, make a fmall alteration in the current coin, and to impofe new taxes ; but he has been o- bligcd to ftop thort in both theCe enterprizes for fear KING OF SWEDEN. 13$ *t)f an infurre^ion. The rapacity and tyranny of the -Grand Seignior are feldom extended farther than the Officers of the Empire, who, whatever they may be in other refpeAs, are domeftic flaves to the Sultan ; while, the relt of the Muflulmen live in profound tran- quillity, without fearing for their lives, their fortune^ or their liberty. Such was the Turkifti Emperor in whofe territories •the King of Sweden fought an afylum. As foon a* •he fet foot in the Sultan's dominions, he wrote him a letter which bears date the 1 3th of July 1 709. Seve- ral copies of this letter were fpread abroad, all of which are now held fpurious ; but of all thofe I have feen, there is not one which does not mark the Jiaughtinefs of the author, and is not more conforma- l)le to his courage than his fituation. The Sultan did not return an anfvver till towards the end of September. The pride of the Ottoman Porte made Charles fenfible of the diftindion it placed between a Turkifh Emperor and a King of part of Scandinavia, a conquered and fugitiv;; Chrillian. For the reft, all thefe letters, which are feldom written by Sovereigns thentfelves, are but vain formalities, which neither difcover the character of the Princes nor the ftate of their aflPairs. Charles XII. was in effe^ in no other fituation in Turkey than that of a captive honourably treated, yet he conceived the defign of arming the Ottoman Empire againft his enemies, and flattered himfelf that .he Ihould reduce Poland under the yoke, and fubdue Ruffia. He had an Envoy at Conftantinople ; but the perfon that ferved him moft effe(5lually in his vaft proje was as fond of giving as his mafter. He carried him one day an account of fixty thouTand crowns in two lines ; ten thoufand crowns given to the Swedes and Janiffaries, by the generous orders of his Majefty, and the reft: fpent by myfelf: «* It is thus I would have my friends give in their ac- ^« counts/' faid the King : " MuUeru makes m< te^d 142 HISTORY OF CHARLES XII. -•» whole pages for the fom of ten thoufand livrcs. I <« like the laconic ftile of Giothafen much better/* One of his old Officers, who was fufpedted of being fome* what covetous, complained to him, that his Majefty gave all to Grothufen : " I give money,** replies the King, " to none but thofe vmo know how to ufc it" This generofity frequently reduced him fo low, that -he had not wherewith to give. More oeconomy in his liberality would have been as honourable, and more for his intereft ; but it was the failing of this Prince to carry every virtue to excefs. Great numbers of ftrangers went from Conftantino- pie to fee him. The Turks and the neighbouring Tar- tars came thither in crowds ; all refpe^ed and admired him. His inflexible refolution to abftain from wine, and his regularity in aflifting twiceaday at public- pray- ers, made them fay, *' This is a true Muflulman :" •and they burned with impatience to.mardi along with him to the conqueft of Mufcovy. During his ftay at Bender, whi^h- was* much longer than he expedled, he in fenfibly acquired a tafte for reading. Baron Fabricius, a gentleman of the Duke of HoTftein, a young man or an amiable charader, •who poffcifed that gaiety of temper and eafy turn of ■wit which is fo agreeable to Princes, was the perfbn who engaged him in thefe literary amufements^. He had been lent to refide with him at.Bender to take care of the interefts of the young Duke of Holftein ; and he fucceeded therein by rendering himfelf agreeable. He had read all the beft French authors. He perfuaded the King to read the Tragedies of Peter Corneille, ihofe of Racine, and the works of Defpreaux. The -King had no relifli for the Satires of the laft author, which indeed are far from being his beft pieces, but he was very fond of his other writings. When he read that paffage of the Eighth Satire, where the audior treats Alexander as a fool and a madman, he tore the leaf. Of all the French tragedies, Mithridatcs was the one which pleafed him moK, \>^c^^xl^ >^^ ^\»ai\M^w of that KING OF SWEDEN. 143 monarchy vanquifhed and ftill breathing revenge, was conformable to his own. He (hewed M. Fabricius the paiTages that (Iruck him« pointing them out with his &iger ; but would never read any of them aloud, nor ever hazard a tingle word in French. Nay, when he afterwards faw M. des AUeurs, the French AmbafTa- dor at the Porte, a man of diftinguiflied merit, but ac* qi^ainted only with his -mother-tongue, he anfwered him in Latin ; of which when M. des Allcurs proteft- ed he did not underftand four words, the King, rather than talk French, feht for an interpreter. This was the employment of Charles XI L at Ben- der, where he waited till a Turkifh army (hould come to his affiftance. His Envoy prefented memorials in his name to the Grand Vizier, and Poniatowfky fup- ported them with all his intereft. The talent of infi- nuation never fails of fuccefs. He was always dreffcd in the Torkifh faihion, and had free accefs to every place. The Grand Seignior prefented hini with a purfe of a thoufand ducats,- and the Grand Vizier faid to him, ** I will take your King in one hand, and a "Iword in the other, and will lead him to Mofcow at <« the head of two hundred thoufand men/* This ■■ Grand Vizier was called Chourlouli-Ali Pacha ; he was the fon of a peafant of the village of Chourlou. Snch an extradion is not held as a reproach among the Turks, who have no ranks of nobility, neither that which is annexed to certain employments, nor that which confifts in titles. With them, the dignity and importance of a man's chara^er depend entirely upon his perfonal fervices ; a cuftom which prevails in mod of the Eaftem countries, and indeed a cuftom the moft natural, and which might be productive of the moft beneficial effeds, if pofts of honour were conferred on none but men of merit ; but the Viziers for the moft part are no better than the creatures of a Black Eu« nuch, or a favourite female Slave. The firft Minifter foon changed his mind. The King could do nothing but negociate 5 but the Czar could give money, which he did ; and even made the money O a - ^^ ^ 144 HISTORY op CHARLES XH. of Charles fenre him on this occafion. The mStarf cheft which he took at Paltowa- furniflied -faiin with new arms againft the vanqaiOied' King ;. and it was no longer the queftion at Court; whether war (hould be made upon the Ruilians. The intereft of the Czar was all-powerful at the Porte, which granted fuch honours to his Envoy as the Mufcovite N^nifters had never b^* fore enjoyed at ConQantinople. He was allowed to- have a Seraglio, that is to fay» a palace in the quarter of the Franks, and the liberty of converfing with other foreign Miniders. The Czar even thought he might demand that General Mazeppa (hould be put into hif hands, as Charles had caufed the unhappy Fatkul t9 be delivered up to him. Chourlouli-Ali Pacha knew not how to refu(e any thing to a Prince who made bis. demands with millions in his hand. Thus the very fame Grand Vizier who had before promifed in the mod folemn manner to lead the King of Sweden into* Mufcovy wrth two hundred thoufand men, dared to propofe to him to confent to the facrifice of General Mazeppa. Charles was enraged at this demand. It is hard to fay bow far the Vizier might have puihed: the affair, had not Mazeppa, who was now. feventy years of age, died exa^ly at this junfture. ITie grie£ and indignation of the King were greatly augmented,, when he learned that Tolftoy, now become the Czar's AmbafTador at the Porte, was publicly attended by the Swedes that had been made flaves at Pultowa^ and that thofe brave ibldiers were every day expofed to fale in the market at Conftantinople. Nay, the Rufljan Am- bafTador faid aloud, that the Muflulman troops at Ben- der were placed there more with a view to fecure the King's perfon than to do him any honour. Charles, abandoned by the Grand Vizier, and van- quiflied by the Czar's money in Turkey, as he had be-, fore been by his arms in the Ukraine, faw himfelf de- ceived and defpifed by the Porte, and almoft a Prifoner among the Tartars. His. attendants began to defpair. He himfelf aloi;-j remained firm, and never appeared deje^ed even for a xnomtax.. 'V\\^ "^mV^tw li^ (idleved '^ KING OF 5WEDEN. 145 tor be Ignorant of the intrieues of Chourlonli-Ali, his Gmnd Vizier ; he refolved therefore to acquaint hint with them, and Poniatowfky took the charge of this hazardous enterprize. The Grand Seignior goesevery Fiiday to the Mofque, furrounded by his Solaks, a kind of guards, >vhofe turbans are ornamented with fuch high feathers that they conceal the Sdltan from the fight of the people. When any one has a petition to prefent to the Grand Seignior, he endeavours to min- f 1c with the guards, and holds the petition aloft. ometimes the Sultan deigns to receive it himfelf ; but he oftener orders an Aga to'tak« charge of it, and has the' petitions brought* to hiiri on his return from the Moique.. There* is no-feSr of any -one daring to im- portune him with ufelefs' memorials and trifling peti- tions, as lefs is written lat Conftantinople in a whole year than they do at Paris kr one day-^ There is ft ill le& danger of any memorial hehig prefented againd the Mintftefs, to. whom xhe^ Sultan often fends them without reading. Poniatowfky had only this method to convey the King of Sweden's complaints to the , Grand Seignior. He drew up a heavy chitrge againft die Grand Vizier. M. de Fcnol, then the' French Am* ba^ador, and who gave me an account of the whole afiair, had the memojtar tranflated into the Turkifh tongue. A Greek ^as hiied to prefent it. This Greek, having mingled with the guards of theGrand Seignior, held tne paper fo high fora long time, and made fuch a noife, that the Sultan obferved him, and took the ^ memorial himfelf. -i Thiis method of prefcnting memorials to the Sultan > againft his Viziers was frequently employed. A Swede, called Leloing, gave in another petition a few days af- ter. Thus in the* Turkifh Empire was Charles XIF. reduced to the neccffity of employing the fame expedr- cnts wijth an opprefTed fubjedl. Some days after this, the Sultan fent the King of Sweden, as the only anfwer to his complaints, five-and- twenty Arabian horfes, one of which, that had earned his Highnefs, was covered with a faddle and houfing ■ G 3 s^ ^tvtvcl\ft.alfD taken from bim ; and himfelf was banilhed to t^affa, formerly oalled Theodofia, in Crim Tartary^ The Bull, that is t4> fay, the Seal of the Empire, was giveti to Numa^- Couprougli) grandfon of the. great Couprougli, who took Candia. -This new Vizier was, what ill-formed Chriftians can hardly believe it poffible for a Turk ta be, a maa of inflexible virtue, a fbrupulous obferver ot ^e law, and one who frequently oppofed juftice to the win of the Sultan. He could not endure to hear of a W2(r againft Mufcovy,^ which he treated as unjud and unneceQary ; but the fame attachment to his Jaw th.a.t* prevented his making war upon the Czar contrary to the faith of treaties, made him refpedl the duties c£ hofpitality towards the King of Sweden* He would i^y to his matter, " The law forbids you to attack the ^ Czar, who has not offended you ; but it commands^, * «* you to fuceour the King of Sweden, who is an,ui\<^ M. fortunate Prince in your domiiuons.'*" To this Prince he fent eight hundred purfes (every purfe containing five hundred crowns), and^advifed him to return peace*, ^bly to his own dominions, either through the terri- tories of the Etnperor of Germany, or in fome of the Fi ch Ycffels, which wcr^ thctl. la \lx^ ^\\ ^S. ^^x^- I4S HISTORY >op CHARLES Xlf.. ftantinople> and which M. de Feriol, the Ftench Ain« : baiTador at the^ Portey offered to Charles to coodaS him to Marfeilles. Count Poniatowfty.negociated more than ever with this Minifter, and acquired fuch afa-* periority in thefe negociations^ with an incorruptible Vizier, as the gold of the Mufcovites was unable to dif- » pute. The Ruffian faction thought^their beft refoorce . was to poifon fucH a dangerous negociator. They ac«* cordingly won over one of hii domeftics, who was to * give him the poifon in a difti of coffee ; but- the crime was difcovered before it was carried into execution; . tl^e poifon was found in .the hands of the domeftic» contained in a fmall vial* which was carried to the Grand Seignior. The poifbner was tried in a full Di- van, and condemned to the gallies ; for the juftice of the Turks never puniflics with death thofe crimes which . have not been executed. Charles XII. who could never be perfuaded but that, fooner or later, he fhould be able to engage the ■ Turkifh Empire in a war againft Mufcovy, rejeded c- very propofad which, was held out for his peaceable re- turn home ; and never ceafed to reprcfcnt to the Turks the formidable power of that very Czar whom he had fo long defpifed : his emiflaries were perpetually ind- . nuating that Peter Alexiowitz wanted to make'himfelf ' mafter of the navigation of the Black Sea ; and thaty after having fubdued the Coflacks, he would carry his arms into Crim Tartary. Sometimes thefe reprefenta* tions animated the Porte \ at others the RufEan Mini* fters rendered them of no avail. While Chailes XII. fuffefed his fate to depend upon the caprice of Viziers, and while he was alternately re- ceiving favours and aflfronts from a foreign Power, prefenting petitions to the Sultan, and fubiiiling upon his bouniy in a defert, all his enemies, awakened from their former lethargy, invaded his dominions. The battle of Pultowa was the fir ft fignal to a revo- lution in Poland. King Auguftus returned to that country, protefting againfl his abdication, and the peaces of Altranftad, -aivd i^ubllcly accufing Charles, KING OF SWEDEN. ' i^ yshom he na longer fearedr of robbery and cnicltf- He immediately imprifoncd Fmgftein and Imhoff, his nenipotentiartes, who had figned his abdication, as if in fo doing they had exceeded dicir orders, and betray- ed their mafter. Hi* Saxon troops, which had been- ^e pretext of his dethronements conduced him back to Waifaw, accompanied by moft of the Polilh Pala- tines, who had formerly fwom fidelity to him, and had afterwards taken the fame oath to Staniflaus, and were now come to do it again to Anguftus. Siniawfki him> felf rejoined his party, and, having loft the idea of be- coming King, was content to remain Grand General of the Crown. Fleming, his firft Minifter, who had been obliged to quit Saxony for a time, for fear of be- ing delivered up with Patkul, now contributed by his addrefs to bring back to his mafter's inteteft a great part of the Fcbih nobility. The Pope abfolved the people from the oath of alTe. giance which they had taken to Staniflaus. This ftep ©f the Holy Father was exceedingly apropos, and, fup- ported by the forces of Auguftus, was of confiderable weight; it (h-engthened the credit of the Court of Rome in Pbland, who had no inclination at that time ro conteft with the Sovereign Pontiffs their chimerical right of interfering in the temporal concerns of Princes. Every oae voluntarily returned to the government of Augnftus, and received without repugnance a ufelefs abfolution, which ihe Nuncio did not tail to reprefent as abfolutely neceffary^ • The power of Charles and the grandeur of Sweden were now drawing towards their laft period. More ^han ten; crowned heads had long beheld with fear and envy the Swedilh power extending itfelf far beyond its natural bounds, on the other fide of the Baltic fe?;,, feom the Duna to tfae Elbe. The fall of Charles, and bis abfence, revived the interefted views and jealoufies of all thefe Princes, which had for a long time been l)aid alleep by treaties, and by their inability to break ihem. 'Xb^ Czar, more powerful than 2\\ ot ^tm y^vv^- ijo HISTORY OP CHARLES XEL' gether, profited by his late ?idory : he took Wibonrg' smd all Carelia, overrun Finland with troops, laid fiege to Riga, and fent a body of forces into- Poland to aid ' Auguflus in recovering his throne. This Emperor - veas at that time, what Charles had been formerlj, the arbiter of Poland and the North ; but he confulted only his intereft, while, on the other hand, Charles had ne- ver hearkened to any thing but his ideas of revenge and glory. The Swedifli monarch had fuccoured his al- lies and deftroyed his enemies, without reaping theleaft fruit from his vid^ories; the Czar, conducing himfelf more like a Prince, and lefs like a Hero, would not aflift the King of Poland, but on condition that Livo- nia (hould be ceded to him ; and that that provincci for which Auguftus had kindled the war, (hould re- main for ever in the po^Teilion of the Mufcovites. The King of Denmark, forgetting the treaty of Tra-. ▼endal, as Augufhis had that of Altninftad, began from that time to think of making hinifelf maftei of the Duchies of Holftein and Bremen, to which he re- newed his prelenfions. The King of Pruflia had an- cient claims upon Swedifh Pomerania, which he now - refolved to revive. The Duke of MecTclenburgh faw- with' envy that the Swedes were ftill in pofTemon of = Wifmar, the fineft town in the iDuchy : .that Prince was to marry a niece of tlie RuiHan Emperor ; and the Czar wanted only a pretext for edablifhing himfelf in Germany, after the example of the. Swedes. Geor^^e Eleftor of Hanover fought to enrich himfelf, on his fide, with the fpoils of Charles. The Bifhop of Mnn- iler too would have been willins; enough to avail him- felf of fome of his claims, had he been able to fupport them. Twelve or thirteen thoufand Swedes defended Po* merania, and the other countries which Charles poflcT- fed in Germany; it was there that the war was moft likely to begin. This (lorm alarmed the Emperor and • his Allies. It is a law of the Empire, that whoever invades one of its provinces (hall be reputed an enemy to the whole G^rnxaw boi^. KING OP SWEDEN. r^ But there was ftill a greater embarrafTment ; all tbefe Princes, except the Czar, were then united againft Louis XIV. whofe power, for a long time, had been IS formidable to the Empire as that of Charles. Germany, at the beginning of this century, had found- itfelf hard prefTed, from fouth to north, between the armies of France and Sweden. The French had paffed the Danube, and the Swedes the Oder, and had their forces, -viftorious as they then were, been joined together, the Empire had been undone. But the fame faulity that ruined Sweden, had like wife humbled France: Sweden, however, had ftill refources left; and Louis carried on the war with vigour, though without fuccefs. Had Pomerania and die Duchy of Bremen become the theatre of war, it was to be fear- ed that the Empire would fuffer by it ; and that being weakened on that iide, it would be lefs able to ft and againft Louis XIV. To prevent this danger, the Em^ peror, the Princes of the Empire, Anne (^een of Eng- L|nd, and the States-General of the United Provinces, concludedr at the end of the year 1 709, one of the moft fingular treaties that ever was (igned. ft was (Upulated by-fliefe Powers, that the war a- ^aind the Swedes (hould not be made in Pomerania, nor in any other of the ^German provinces, but that the jenemies of Charles XII. (hould be at liberty to attack him any where elfc. The Czar and the king of Poland acceded to this treaty, in which they caufed to be in- ferred an article as extsaordinary as the treaty itfelf; this was, that the twelve thoufand Swedes who were in Pomerania (hould not be permitted to leave it to de- fend their other provinjpes. To fecure the execution of the treaty, they propofed to raife an army to prefervc this imaginary neutrality. This army was to encamp on the banks of the Oder. An unheard of novelty, furely, to raife an army to 'prevent a war ! Even the Princes who were to pay the army, were moft of them interefted in beginning a war which they thus pretended to prevent. The treaty aU £0 imjpoited, that the army (hould be-com'^o&d ^ >^ >5l HISTORY OF CHARLES XII. troops of the Emperor, . of the King of Pruilia* of iht Ele&or of Hanover, of the Landgrave of Hefle, and of the Biihop of Munfter. The iffue of this projed was fuch as might naturallj have been ezpeded ; it was not carried into execution, llie Princes who were to have farniHied their contin- gents for completing the army, contributed nothing : there were not two regiments formed. Everybody talked of a neutrality, but nobody obferved it ; and aU the Princes of the North, who had any intereft in qoar* relling with the Kii\g of Sweden, were left at full li^ bcrty to difpute with each other the fpoils of that Prince* At this junfbure, the Czar, after having quartered his troops in Lithuania, and having given orders for the fiege of Riga, returned to Mofcow, to dtfplay to his people a fight as new as any thing he had hitherto done in the kingdom : this was a triumph of nearly the fame nature with that of the ancient Romans. He made his entry into Mofcow on the firft of January 1 710, under feven triumphal arches, eredled in the (Ireets, and adorned with every thing which the climate could furnilh, or which a Hourifhing commerce, ren- dered fuch by his care, could produce. A regiment of guards began the proceffion, followed by the pieces of artillery taken from the Swedes at Lefno and Pul- towa, each being drawn by eight horfes, covered with fcarlet houfings hanging dowp to the ground ; then came the (landards, kettle-drums, and colours, won at thofe two battles, carried by the very officers and fol- diers who had taken them ; and all thefe fpoils were followed by the choiceft troops of the Czar. After they had filed off, there appeared in a chariot, made on purpofe*, the litter of Charles the Xllth, found on the field of battle at Piiltowa, all (battered with two cannon (hot : behind this litter marched all the prifoners two and two : amongfl them appeared Count Piper, ♦ Mr Norberg, Confeffor of Charles XII. here corre^s the au- thor, and affirms that the litter was carried by the foldiers. For the truth of thcfc ejftntial dtcumftaacw, wc refer to thofc wh» faw them. KING OF SWEDEN. 153 Piper, firft Mini(ter of Sweden, the celebrated Mare- fchal Renfchild, the Count de Lewenhaupt, the Ge- nerals Slipenback, Stackelberg, and Hamilton, and all the officers who were afterwards difperfed through Great Ruflia. Imniediately after thefe appeared the Czar himfelf, mounted on the fame horfe which he rode at the battle of Pultowa. A little after him came the <]renerals -who had had a ftiare in the fuccefs of the day. Then followed another regiment of guards ; and the waggons loaded with Sw^edifti ammunition clofed the ;whole. This pageantry was accompanied with the ringing of all the bells in Mofcow, with the found of drums, kettle-drums, trumpets ; and an infinite number of mufical inftruments were heard alternately with the fa- lute of two hundred pieces of cannon, and the accla- mations of five hundred thoufand men, who, at every paufe the Czar made in this triumphal entry, cried out, ■** JLong live the Emperor our father." This dazzling exhibition augmented the people's ve- neration for his perfon, and perhaps made him appear greater in their eyes than the real advantages they had ■derived from him. Meanwhile he continued the block- ade of Riga. His Generals 4iiade themfelves mafters of the reft of Livonia, and part of Finland. At the iame time t-he King of Denmark came with his whole fleet to make a delcent upon Sweden, where he landed feventeen tlioufand men, whom he left under the com- mand of the Count de Reventlau. " Sweden was at that time governed by a Regency com* ■pofedoffeveral Senators, whom the King appointed when "b^' departed from Stcckholn). The body of the Senate looking upon the government as their right, became jea- lous of the Regency. The State fuiFered by thcfe divifions : but when, after the battle of Pultowa, the firll news they heard at Stockholm was, that the King was at Lender, at the m.ercy of th^ Tuiks and Tartars, and that the Danes had difembarked in Schonen, and had taken the town of Helfimburgh, their 'jealoufies then vanilhed^ P ^sA continually recruiting his torces, the mainta garrifonsy and the (landing army he was con bliged to keep in Finland, Ingria, Livonia, nia, Bremen, and Verden, had coft Sweden the courfe of the war, above two hundred thoufand nnen; fo that there did not rem: thoufand of the ancient troops, which, with • rsufed militia, were the only refources Swedei The nation is naturally warlike ; and evei infenfibly adopts, the difpofition of its King talked of nothing, from one end of the count other, but. the prodigious atchievements of Ch his Generals, and of the old regiments that fo der them at Naiva, Duna, Clidau, Pultufk, t .lofin. The lowcft of the Swedes acquired frc a fpirit of emulation and glory. Their a£&( their King, their pity for his misfortunes, a implacable hatred to the Danes, contributed to this ardour. In feveral other coantries the are daves, or treated as fuch;; but. here they a part of the State, are confldered as citizens, confequence, are capable of more refined fen fo that this new-raifed militia became, in a (h< the be ft troops of the North. General Steinbock put himfelf, by order of KING^OF SWEDEN. 155 his' extraordinary army, overtook the Danes about hree leagues from Helfimburgh on the loth of March 1710. He wifhed to have given his troops a few days ■eft, to raife entrenchments, and to allow his new fol- Hers a fufficient time to accuftom themfelves to behold the enemy ; but all the peafants called out for. battle }hc very day they arrived. Several of the officers then prefent have fince afTured me that they faw every foldier foaming with rage and choler, fo great is the national hatred of the Swedes to the Danes. Steinbock profited by this ardour of their minds, which, in the day of battle, is of as much canfequence as military difcipline, and attacked the Danes. A circumftance was now difplayed, of which, pel haps, the whole hiftory of mankind cannot furniih above two examples ; the new-raifed militia, in their firft affault equalled the intrepidity of veteran foldiers. Two regiments of thefe ill armed peafants cut in pieces the regiment of the King of Denmark's guards, of which there remained only ten men alive. The Danes, entirely defeated, retired under the can- non of Helfimburgh. The pafFage from Sweden to Zealand is fo fhort, that the King of Denmark recei- ved the news at Copenhagen of the defeat of his army in Sweden, the -very fame day on which it happened, and Tent his Heet to bring o^P the ihattered remains of' hi$ army. The Danes quitted Sweden with precipita- tion five days after the battle ; but being unable to car- ry off their horfes, and unwilling- to leave them to the enemj, they killed them all in the environs of Helfim- burgh, and fet fire to their provifions; burning their com and baggage, and leaving in Helfimburgh four thoufand wounded men,' of whom the greateft part di- ed with the infedtion occafioned by fo many dead hor- fcs, and for want of provifions, of which even their countrymen deprived them, to prevent the Swedes from enjoying it. At the fame time the peafants of Dalecarlia, having in the depths of their forefts heard the report of their King's being a prifoner among the Turks, fent a de- 156 HISTORY OF CHARLES XII. putation to the Regency of Stockholm, and offered to go at their own expence, to the number of twenty thoufand, and deliver their mafter from the hands of his enemies. This propofal, which was better calcu- lated to difplay their courage and affeAion to their Ring than to produce any real advantage, was received with pleafure, though it was not accepted ; and the Senators took care to acquaint the King with it, at the fame time that they fent him an account of the battle of Helfimburgh. Charles received this pleafmg news rn his camp near Bender in the month of July 17 10; and a little time after another event happened which contributed ftill more to ftrengthen his hopes. The Grand Vizier Couprougli, who oppofed all his de.figns, was depofed about two months after he had . entered into his office"? The little court of Charles XII. and thofe who ftill adhered to him in Poland, gave out that Charles made and unmade the Viziers, and go- verned the Turklih Empire from his retreat at Bender; but he had no (hare in the difgrace of that favourite ; The rigid probity of the Vizier is faid to have been the fole cauie of his fall. His predeceffor had not paid the JanifTaries out of the imperial treafury, but with' the money he had raifed by extortion : Couprougli paid them out of the treafury. Achmet reproached him with, prefeiring the intereft of the fuhjeft to that of the Em- peror: " Your predecefFor, Chourlouli," faid he, " knew ** how to find other means to pay my troops " " If,'* replied the Grand Vizier, " he had the art of enrich- ** ing Your Highnefs by rapine, it is an art of which. •* I glory in being ignorant'* The profound fecrecy obferved in the Seraglio fcl- dom permits fuch particulars to tranfpire to the pub- lic ; but this fa(ft was publilhed at the fame time with Couprougli's disgrace. This Vizier's lK)ldnefs, howe- ver, did not coft him his head, becaufe true virtue can frequently caufe itfelf to be refpe<5ted, even by thofe whom it offends. He was permitted to retire to the ifldiid of Negropont. Thefe particulars I learned from KING OF SWEDEN. 157.. ihfe letters of M. Bru, my relation, firft interpreter to the Ottoman Porte, and I have related them in order • to difplay the true fpirit of that government. After this the Grand Seignior recalled from Aleppo* Baltagi Mehemet, Pacha of Syria, who had been Grand Vizier before Chourlouli. The Baltagis of the Serag- lio, fo called from balta^ which fignifies an axe, are ilayes employed to cut wood for the ufe of the Princes of the Ottoman blood and the Sultanas. This Vizier had been a Baltagi in his youth, and had ever fince retained the name of that office^ according to the cuf^ torn of the Turks, who take, without blulhing, the name of their firft profcfllon, or that of their father, or even the place of their birth. < At the time Baltagi Mehemet was a flave in the Se- raglio, he was fo happy as to do feveral little fervices to 'Prince Achmet, who was then a prifoner of ft ate in thcf reign of his brother Muftapha. It is permitted the - Princes of the Ottoman blood to keep for their pleafure a few wornen who are paft the age of child-bearing (an age that arrives very early in Turkey), but ftill faandfome enough to pleafe. As foon as Achmet be- came Sultan, he gave one of thefe female flaves, whom he had ardently loved, in marriage to Baltagi Mehemet. This woman,, by her intrigues, made her hufband Grand Vizier';anothen intrigue difplaced him ; and a third made him Grand Vizier again. When? Baltagi Mehemet came to receive the Bull of the Empire^ he found the party of the King of Swe^ den prevailing in the Seraglio. The Sultanefs Valid6 ; Ali-Coumourgi, the favourite of the Grand Seignior ; the Kiflari. Aga, Chief of the Black Eunuchs ; and the Aga of the Janiflaries, inclined to a war with the Czari the Sultan was determined in the fame refolution ; and the firft order he gave the Grand Vizier was to go and attack the Mufcovites with two hundred thoufand men. BalugiMehemethadnevermade a campaign, yet he was 1191 the idiot that Swedifh malcontents have reprefent- edii^\x attack in a KING OF SWEDEN. i6i. dHbrderly manner, incapable of attending to the comr xnands of their General, or rallying themfelves. Thei cavalry, whit:h ought to be excellent, confidering the goodnefs and adivity of their horfes, is not able to withftand the fhock of the German horfc ; and their fnfantry did not yet know how to make ufe of fixed bayonets. Befidc all this, the Turks have not had an able General fince the time of Couprougli, who con- quered the lile of Candia ; a flave brought up in the tdlenefs and folitude of a Seraglio, made a Vizier ftrough favour, and a General againft his will, con- ducing an army raifed in a hurry, without difcipline or experience, againft Ruffian troops, hardened by twelve years war, and proud of having conquered the Swedes. The Czar, to all appearance, muft have vanqmilied Baltagi Mehemet ; but he was guilty of the fame fault with regard to the Turks, which the King of Sweden had committed with refpeft to himfelf ; he defpifcd his enemy too much. On the firft news of the Tor- kifli preparations he left Mofcow, and, having given orders for tuining the fiege of Riga into a blockade, ^jflcrabled fourfcore thoufand men on the frontiers of Poland*. With this army he took the road through. Moldavia and Walachia, formerly the country of the I>acians, but now inhabited, by Greek Chriftians tii- hutaries to the Grand Seignior. Moldavia was, at that time, governed by Prince Gantemir, of Greek extradtion, and who united in his perfon the talents of the ancient Greeks, the knowledge of letters and of arms. He was fuppofed to have def- ccnded from the famous Timur, known by the name ©f Tamerlane. This origin appearing more honoura* ble than a Greek one, tliey attempt to prove the rea- lity of the defcent by the name of this Conqueror. T/Vw«r, fay they, refembles Temir ; the title of Kam^ which • The Choplain Norbcrg ancrts, that the C^ar compelled eve- ry fourth man in his dominions, able to bear arms, to follow hini to the field Had this been true, his army would have aijiauuc- ed, &t Jcn/i, to two xniiiiwia of mcn» i6i HISTORY OF CHARLES'Xir.' which Timur pofleflcd before he conquered Afia, is in-» eluded in the word Cantemir ; therefore Prince Cante-? mir is defcended from Tamerlane. Such are the* foundations of moft genealogies ! But from whatever family Cantemir defcended, he- owed all his fortune to the Ottoman Porte. Yet fcarcely had he received the inveftiture of his principal lity, when he betrayed the Turkiih Emperor, his bc- nefaftor, to the Czar, from whom he exj>eftcd greater- advantages. ' He flattered himfelf that the conqueror of Charles XII. would eafily triumph over a Vizier of fo little reputation, who had never made a campaign,' . and who had chofen for his Kiaia, that is to fay his' Lieutenant, the Intendant of the Cuftoms in Turkey. He made no doubt but all the Greeks would readily follow his ftandard, as the Greek Patriarchs had en- couraged him in his revolt. The Czar therefore, ha* ving made a fecret treaty with this Prince, and recei" ved him into his army, advanced into the country; and in the month of June 1 7 1 1 arrived on the northern banks of the river Hierafus, now. Pruth, near Jafly^ , the capital of Moldavia. As roon as the Grand Vizier heard that Peter A- lexiowitz was advancing on that fide, he immediately quitted his camp, and, following the courfcof the Da- nube, refolved to crofs the river on a bridge of boats, near to a town calkd Saccia, at the fame place whcr© Darius, formerly built the bridge that went by his name. The Turkilh. army ufed fuch diligence, that they foon came in fight of the Mufcovites, the river Pruth lying between them. The Czar, fure of the Prince of Moldavia, never thought that the Moldavians would fail him. But the Prince and his fubjcdls have very often diflPerent inte- refts. The Moldavians preferred the Turkifli Go- vernment, which is. never fatal to thei great, and which ajQFe<5ls a great lenity and mildnefs to its triBu- taiy States : they dreaded the Chriftians, and efpecially the Mufcovites, who had always treated them with inlmrmnhj 5 they theieforc carried. all their provifions KING OF SWEDEN. rgj 'to the Ottoman army : the contra the Czar was driven back to the Pruth, having no o* ther intrenchment than a chevaux dc frife and a few waggons A few troops of the JauifTaiies and Spahis attacked his army fo difadvantageouOy fituated ; bat their attack was diforderly, and the Ruffians defended themfelves with a firmnefb which the prefence of tbcir Prince, added to their defpair, gave thepi. The Turks were twice repulfed. Next day M. Po- niatowfky advifed the Grand Vizier to ftarve the Rut fian army, which being in want of every thing would, together with the Emperor, be obliged in a day's time to furrender at difcretion. The Czar halh (ince that time more than once de^ clared, that in his whole life he never felt any thing fo tormenting as the agitation in which he paffed the night ; he revolved in his thoughts, tl\at all he had been doing for fo many years to promote the glory and happiuefs of his country, that fo many grand underta- kings, which had been always interrupted by wars, were now, perhaps going to perifh with him, before they were fully acconiplilhed ; and that he muft either be deilroyed by famine, or attack about an hundred and eighty thoufand men with feeble and difpirited troops, diminifhed one half in their number, the caval- ry almoft entirely difmounted, and the infantry exhauft- ed with hunger and fatigue. In the beginning of the night he bad fent for Gene- ral CzeremetofF, and ordered him without deliberation, or taking his opinion, to have every thing in readincfs' at the break of day for attacking the Turks with fixed bayonets. He.likewife gave the moft pofitive orders that all the baggage Ihould be burnt, and that every officer Ihould keep but one waggon, in order that, if they were conquered, the enemy might not obtain the booty they expeded Having regulated every thing with the General ^Gt the battle, he retired to his tent, opprcifed with grief and agitated with couv\}\t\Qii\s, ^ ^xfex^^x hj^x vhicb KlNa OF SWEDEN. 185 he ^^s often attacked, and which always recurred with redoubled violence when he was under any pertur- bation ef mind. He gave orders that no one (houlS dare to enter his tent in the night, on any pretext what- ever ; not chufine to receive any remondrance againft a refolotion which, though defperate, was neceuary ; and (Hll le(s that any one Ihould be a witnefs of the dif- treffed fitnation in which he found himfelf. In the mean time the greateft part of the baggage was burnt, as he had ordered. Tne whole- army fol- ]'(9wed the example, though with much reludance; and feveral buried their mod valuable eiFeds in the ettrth. The General Officers had already given orders 'for the march, and were endeavouring to ini]f>tre the army with that confidence which they themfelves wanted; but the whole foldiery, exhauiled widi hunger and fa- tirae« marched without fpirit or hope, 'fhc women, with which the army was needlefsly crowded, fet up . the moft lamentable cries, v(4iich contributed ftill more to enervate the men ; and next morning every one ex- pected death or il a very as the only alternative. This defcrtption is by no means exaggerated, it is exactly conformable to the accounts that were given by Offi- cers who fcrved in the army. There was at that time in the Ruffian camp a wo- rastn as extraordinary, peiliaps, as the Czar himfelf. ^he wtts theh only known by the name of Catherine. "Her mother was a poor country-woman called Erb- Magden, of the -village of Ringen in Efthdnra, a pro- Vmde Hvheie'the people were ferfs or glebe-flaves, and Which was then under the government of the Swedes. ^She nev^r difcovfered her fathef , and had beeft baptized ^by the name of Martha. The Vicar of the parifh, out of charity brought her up to the age of fourteen ; at which age the went to fervice at Marienbourg, at the 4ioufe of a Lutheran Minifter of tliat country called •Gluk. In 1 702, being then eighteen years of age, (he mar- ried a Swedifh dragoon. The day after her marriage « party of the Swedilh troops having bttw beaX Vi^ \3^^ i66 HISTORY of CHARLES XII. Mufcovites, the dragoon, ix^bo was in the adion, ^-as ' jniiTing, nor could his wife difcover whether he had been made prifoner, nor indeed at any time afterwards learn what was become of him. A few days after (he was made a prifoner herfelf by General Baur ; in whofe fervice (he ftaid feme time, and afterwards in that of Marefchal^ Czeremetoff, by whom (he was given to Menzikoff, a man who expe- rienced the greateft viciflitudes of fortune, having been raifed from a.paftry cook's boy to the rank of a General and a Prince, but who was at laft (Iripped of every honour, and bani(hed into Siberia, where he died in mifery and defpair. It was at a fupper. given .by Prince Menziko£F that the Emperor fir A faw her« and inftantly. became ena- moured of her. He privately mairied her in the year 1 707 ; not (educed to it by female artifices, but be- caufe he thought, he had met with a woman capable of feconding his fchcmes, and even of maintaining them after, his death. Jie had long before divorced his firft wife Ottokefa, the daughterof a 3oyard who was accufed of oppofmg the alterations which he made ia his dominions ; a crime in the eyes of the Czar the moft unpardonabldf as he would fufier nobody in his family whofe thoughts did not agree with his own. He thought he had now found in this foreign (lave the qualities of a foverejgn, though .(he had none of the virtues of her ^x : he however, for her fake, difdain- ed the prejudices that would have governed a man of common ideas, and therefore had her crowned Em- prefs. The fame talents which made her the wife of Peter Alexiowitz, procured her the Empire after the death of her hufhand. Europe hath beheld with fur- prife this woman, who was never able to read * or writCj • The Sieur de la Mottraye pretends that Ihe had a good edu- cation, and could both read and write very well. 'I'he conrrarf of this is known to all the world. The peafants of JLivonia arc fi^cvcr permitted to learn either to read or write, owing to an an- cient iLtm OP SWEDEN. 167 t^rite, and comp^nfating for her education and her weaknefles by her firmnefs, and filling with glory the throne of a legiflator. At the time fhe married the Czar (he renounced the Lutheran religion, in which (he had been born, for that of Mufcovy ; in which religion fhe was rcbapti- zed, according .to the rites of the Ruffian church, and inftead of the name of Martha Q\6 took that of Catherine, by which (he was ever after known. This woman happening to be in the camp at Pruth, the h'eld a council with the General Officers and the Vice-Chancellor Schaffirof, while the Czar was in his tent. In this conference it was refolved to afls a peace of the Turks, and endeavour to perfuade the Czar to aj^ree to it. The Vice-Chancellor wrote a letter to the Grand Vizier in his roafter's name, which letter the Czarina carried into the Emperor's tent, notwith- ftanding his prohibition ; and havmg by tears and en- treaties prevailed upon him to fign it, (he immediately collected all her jewels, money, and mofl valuable ef- fedhi, and even borrowed Of the General Officers ;^ "which fum being amafTed formed a confiderable pre- fcnt : (he then fent it, with the letter figned by the Czar, to Ofman Aga, Lieutenant to the Grand Vi- zier. Mehemet Baltagi at firft anfwered with the lof- ty air of a Vizier and a conqueror, " Let the Czar "fend me his Prime Mihifter, and I (hall then cortfi- " der what is to be done." The Vice-Chancellor Schaffirof, upon this, immediately fet off to the Tur. ktfh camp, provided with fome prefents, which he ptlb- lifcly offered to the Grand Vizier, fufficient to (hew him they ftood irt need of his clemency, but too incon« fiderable to corrupt his integrity. CL2 The ci«nt privilege, which is termed the benefit of clergy, formerly e- ftabliflied among the barbarians who were converted to Chriftia- joity, and ftill fubfifting in this country. The memoirs from which this anecdote is taken farther add, that the Princefs Eliza- beth, a-rtcrwardB Emprcfs, alway* figned for U«c mother ^Ccotatha tiwc/be could write/ %69 HISTORY of CHARLES Xlt The firft demand the Vi^^ier made was, thatt&c Czar (hould furrender at difcretion with the whole ar- my. The Vice-chancellor replied^ that his Biailer was going to attack him in a quarter of an hour, and that the Ruflians would perifh to a man, rather than fuh» xnit to fuch infamous conditions. Ofman joined his remonft ranees to the demand of Schaffirof. Meliemet Baltagi was no warrior ; he faw that the Janiilaries had been repuUed the evening before, fo that Ofman eailly prevailed on hun not to expofe to the hazard of a battle fuch certain advantages. He therefore granted at firft a fufpendon of hoftilities for fix hours, during which thej ihould agree upon the conditions of the treaty. During the parley there happened a little.incident which may ferve to fhew that the Turks ortjcn pay more regard to their word than is in general imagined. Two ItiUian gentlemen, relations of M. Brrllo, LieiN tenant-colonel of aitegiment of grenadiers ifi the Czar's fervice, having gone in qncfk of forage^ were taken prifpncrs by fome Tartars, who brought them to the camp, and offered to fell them to an Officer of the Ja- niifaries. The Turk, enraged at tlieir daring to vio* kte the tiuce, arreded the Tartars, and carried them himfelf before the Grand Vizier, together with the two prifoncrs. The Vizier fent back the two gentlemen to the Czar^s camp, and ordered the Tartars, who had been chiefif concerned in the tranfadtion> to be beheaded. In the mean time the Kjann of Tartary oppofed the conclufion of the treaty, which would deprtve him of all hopes of plunder ; Poniatowiky feconded the Kara with the mod perfuaiive arguments : but Ofman ca^ ried his point againft the importunity of the Tartar and the infinuations of Poniatowfky. The Vizier thought, that i>y concluding an advan- tageous peace he ihould fufficiently ferve his mafter. He infifted that the Mufcovites (hould deliver up Azoph, burn the gallies which lay in that harbour, de- molUh the inxpoitaiix. ov^d% ^viAx. w^u the Palus KING OP SWEDEN. i6^ Msotis, and give the cannon and ammunition of all thofe rortrcfl*es into the hands of the Grand Seignior } that the Czar fhould withdraw his troops from Poland i thsLt he fhould not incommode the little number of Coflacks that were under the proteAion of the Polest nor thofe who depended on the Turks ; and that for the future he (hould pay the Tartars a fubfidy of for- tf thoufand fequins a-year ; a difagreeable tribute im- pofed a long time paft, but from which the Czar had d^ivered his country. At laft the treaty was going to be figned, without fd'much as making mention of the King of Sweden. All that Poniatowflcy could obtain of the Vizier was to infert an article, by which the Czar engaged not to mcomndode Charles in his return ; and what is very remarka^Ie^ it was ftipulatedin this article, that the Czar and the King of Sweden fhould be at liberty to ma^ke peace if they wiihed it, and if they could agree' Upon the ccAiditions. • On thefe conditions the Czaf was permitted to re-* ' tirt with hts army, cannon, artillery, colours and bag- gstge. The Turks furniHied him with provifions, ib UiSit he had plenty of every thing in his camp two hours after the figningof the treaty, which was begun, con- cluded, and figned the twenry-firft day of July 171 1. Jufl as the Czar, now extricated from this terrible dilemma, was marching «£F with drums beating and colours flying, the^ King of Sweden arrived, impatient for the fight,- and to behold his enemy in his power. He had rode above fifty leagues from Bender to JafTy. Ht arrived the very moment the Ruflians were begin- ning to retire in peace ; but he could not penetrate to tht Turkifh camp without pafliing the Pruth by a bridge three leagues di(lant. Charles, who never did any . thing like other men, fwam acrofs the river, at the ha- zard of being drowned, and traverfed the Rudian camp at the rifk of being taken ; he, however, reach, edthe Turkifh army, and alighted at the tent of Po- - niatowfky, who has related this fadl to me both in con- - vcFfation and in his correfpondence- The Count cam& " CL3. w 1 70 mSTOKT Of CHARLES XII. toiiim with a melanchory ait, and told him he had loft an opportunity which perhaps he would never be able to recover. The Kingy fired with refentmentr rail immediately to the tent of the Grand Vizier and with an inflamed . countenance reproached him with the treaty he had oonclnded. ^* I have ;i ri^t/' fays the Gjand Vizier with a calm air« *^ to majse peace or war." " But/' adds the King^ ** had' you not the whole Ruffian army •* in your power ?" " Our law orders,'** anfWers the - Vizier gravely* ^^ to gi^e peace to our ene.inies» when " they implore our mercy.'' ** And does it command . ^ youy" refumes the King in a paflkxn, " tp make a - << bad treaty, when you may impofe what laws yovt ** pleafe ? Did it not depend upon you to lead. the Czar ** prifoner to Conftantinople ?'* The Turk, driven to extremity, replied d til yr ** And: ^ who would hsiye goT^emed'his empire in bis abfence? *^ It is not proper that all Kings ihould leav^ their do->. ** minions." Charlesmade no other aniwf r than by a . {joaile of indignation. Hb tkea«threw himfelf down tu pon a fopha, and, eyeing the Vizier with an air of con- ^ tempt and xefentsaen.t, ftretched out his leg, and en- tangline his fpur in thie Turk's robe, purppfely tore it; after which he ro£b up, remounted his J^orife, and >inth defpair in his iieart returned to Bender. Foniatowiky continued fome time linger with the Grand Vizieiv to try if he could prevail upon him, by inore gentle means, to extort gi^ater conceffions fsQin die Czar; . but the hour of pra^wr being come, the Turki without anfwering a fmgle word, went to wgfii^ and ,t9. fay his. prayers, BDOX RING Of SWEDEN. 17^1 BOOK VI. ARGUMENT. )tttrigii«8 at the Ottoman Poitr *^The Kam of Tartary and the^ P»cha of Bender cndeavoiir to force Charles to depart.— He defends himfelf with forty Domeftics againil a whole Army.— ^ • Is taken and treated as a Prifoner. The fortune of the King of Sweden, fb changed from "what it had been, peifecuted him-^Ten in the mod tri near to the viHage cal- led Varnita^a ; andj as if he had had a fecret foreboding, of what was to befal him, Jbe there built a large houfe of ftone, cap^le, on .occadon to fuftain an aflault for ipme hours. He even furnidied it magnificently, con-^ teary to his ufual cuftooiy in order to command refpe^ from the Turks. He likewise built two other h^nfes, one for his chkn<^^ .eery, .and the other for his favourite Grothufen, who Jc^pt a table at die King's expence. While the Kng was thus employed in buUding near Bender, as if hes: jhad intended always to remain in Turkey, Baltagi Me- ^eip«.t> dreading more. than ever the intrigues and com- |>iaiiXts of this Prince at the Forte, had lent the Refi- dgnt of rfie Emperor of Germany to Vienna, to de- mand a £r.6e paCa^e for the King of Sweden thi■ough^ ihe hereditary dominions of. the Houfe of Auftria* This Envoy in three weeks returned with a promife from .the Imperial Regency, that the honours- which were due to him fliould be^ paid to Charles XTI. and that he ihould be fafely cqndu^d to Pomerania. Apptlicatioxi was made to the Regency of Vienna^ htcaufe Ch^t.rlps the Emperor of Germany, who had fucceeded Jofeph, was then in Spain difputing th^crown of that kiogdon;! with Philip V, While the German Envoy was executing this commiffion at. Viennai the. fixand Vizier f<^t three P^^b^ tp the Ki^ng of Sweden^. to* 172 HISTORY OF CHARLES XII. to iignify to him that be mud quit the Turkifh domi- nions. The King, who had been, informed of the orders with which they were charged, caufed immediate no- tice to be given to them, that if they prefumed toTnake him any propofals contrary to his honour, or to the re- fpe(5l which was due to him, he would have them all three hanged that very moment. The Pacha of -Thef- falonica, who delivered the mefTage, difguifed tjic hat ill- nefs of the commiffion under the moft refpediiul itrms, Charles finifhed the audience without deigning to re- turn the leaft anfwer. His Chancellor MuUem,- who remained with the three Pachas, briefly ^explained to v them his mafter's refufal, which already they fufficient- • ly comprehended by his filencc* The Grand Vizier did not give' up the point ; heor> • dered Ifmael Pacha, the new Serafkier of Bender, to ' threaten the King with the Sultan's indignation, if he - did not make his determination without delay. This * Serafkier was a man of a mild temper and engaging . addrefs, which had gained him the good will of Charlesi and the fricndfhip of all the Swedes. The King entered into conference with him ; bur it was only to tell him, . that he would not depart till Achmet had granted him - two demands ; the punifhment of his Grand Vizier, , and an hundred thoufand men to return with him into • Poland. Baltagi Mehemet knew -very well that Charles re^ - mained in Turkey only to ruin him; he took care to « plant guards along all the roads from Bender to Con- fl^ntinople, to intercept the King's letters. He did • more, he retrenched his •* thaim," that is to fay, the provifion with which the Porte fumifhes thofe Princes - to whom fhe grants an afylum. That of the King of Sweden was immenfe, confifling of five hundred crowns a-day in money, and a profufion of every thing that could contribute to maintain a court in fplendour and . affluence. As foon as the King underflood that the Vizier had prefumed to. retrench hU a]^ov?auce^ he turned to the KING OF SWEDEN. 173 fteward of his houdiokl, and faid, ** Hitherto you have ^ only had two tables, but I command you have four " from to-morrow." The Officers of Charles XII. were accuftomed to tC- teem nothing impoflible which their mailer ordered ; at prefcnt, however, they had neither money nor pro- i^ifionsy and were obliged to borrow at twenty, thirty, ind forty per cent of the officers, domeftrcs, and Ja- niffaries, who were grown rich by the profufion of the King. M. Fabricius the Envoy of Holftcin, Jeffreys :hc Mini(ler of England, with their Secretaries and friends, gave all that they had. The King, with his^ ifual ftatelinefs, and without any concern about the sorrow, fubfided on thefe prefents, which could not bave fufficed him long. It was therefore neceflkry to elude the vigilance or the guards, and to fend fecretly to Conftantinople to borrow money of the Europeair merchants. All refufed to lend money to a King who Teemed to pqthtmfelf out of a condition ever to repay- them* One Eneliih merchant alone, named Cook, ventured to lend him about forty thoufand Crowns, be- ing content to lofe them in cafe of the King of Swe« den's death. This money was brought to the King's little camp juft as they began to be tn want of every thing, and without hopes of any relief. In this interval M. Poniatowflcy wrote, from the ve* xy camp of the Grand Vizier, a relation of the cam- paign at £ruth, in which he accufed Bahagi Mebemet of cowardice and treachery. An old Janiflary, . pro* voked at the weaknefs of the Vizier, and gained more» over by the prefents of Poniatowfky, undertook to de- liver this account^ arnl having obtained leave of abfenccv prefented the letter with his own hand to the Sultan. Poniatowfky, a few days after, left the camp, sxid' repaired to the Ottoman Forte, to form intrigues a*- gainft the GraiKi Vizier, according to his ujual cuftomv Circum (lances were favourable. The Czar, Ending hvaoMf at liberty, did not hurry himfelf to perform his engagements ; the keys of Azoph did not arrive ; the Gui^ Ym^Xx ^'ho yv'as anfwerable for them, and who» 174 HISTORY or CHARLES XIL with reafba, dreaded -die mdim!dkma[]A ^ not dare to appear laHhis premce. The Seraglio at that time was filled more Akire^ with intrigues and fkdioiis. Tbde calials,, which enl in all courts^ and which in Eurapran cooiti eommoD- I7 end with the difiniffion of the Miiuftei^ or at noft in his banifliment, ne^er^l atConftantiMipIetoooa- fion the lofs of more than one head : thef proved fira to the old Vizier ChoarlobK» and to OGaami diet liM- tenant of Baltagi Mebemct who was^ the princifde fa- ther of the peace of Phith, and had afterwards dbtl^^ ed a confiderable pod at the Pbrte. Among Ofinofi' treafures was fonnd the Czarina's ring, attd tratj* ^MHifand pieces of gold of the Saxon and'ltufliaBc6lhi< whicli was a proof that money alone had faved theCnr of Mnfcovy rcotn the precipice* and ruined tfie afEiirt of Charles Xif. The Vizier Bakagi K&faemet wal liti- nilhed to the Ifle of Lemnos» whore be died three jetfi- after. The Snkan did not-fet^.. his effiSfts, cither it his banifhtnent or at hts death. He was fiur from b^ ' ihg rich and his poverty is a juftlficaUonof fiisefaane^' ter. To this Crand Vizier fucceeded Jufluf, that is to' fay Jofeph, whofe fortune was as extraordinary as that of his predeceiFors. He was born on the frontiers of^ Mufcovy, was taken prifoner at (ix years of age» to- gether with his family, and had been fold to a Jjd^'^ faiy. He had been for feme time a fervant in the Seraglio, and at laft became the fecond perfon in that very empire wherein he had been a flave ; but he W only the Ihadow of a Minifter. The young Selid^ar-Ali* Goumourgi elevated him to that fKppery poft cd)f while he waited for an oceafton to fill it himfelf; aid JufTuf, his creature, had nothing to do but to let the leals of the empire to the will of this favourite. The politics of the Ottoman Court feemed to undergo a to* "tal alteration, from the very beginning of this Vizier's adminiftration ; the Czar's Plenipotentiaries, who re- mained at Conflantinople, both as Ambafiadors and as hoftages, were treated better than ever ; the Grand ^ Viziet* KING OF SWEDEN. 1^5 Vizier confirmed with them the peace of the Pruth ; but that which mortified the King of Sweden above all was, to hear that the fecret alliance made with the Czar at Conftantinople, was brought about by the me- ditation of the Ambafladors of England and Holland. Conftantinople, fmce the time of Charles's retreat to Bender was become what Rome hath fo often been, the center of the negociations of Chriftendom. Count des Alleurs, the AmbaiTador from France, fupported here the interefts of Charles and Staniflaus.; the Mini- fter of the Emperor of Germany oppofed them ; and the fame coUifious prevailed here between the Swediih and Mufcovite fa^ions, with which we have long feen the Court of Rome agitated by thofe of France and Spain. England and Holland, who ieemed to be neuter, were not fo in reality ; the new commerce which the Czar had opened at Peterfburg attraded the attention «of thefe two commercial nations. The Englifh and Dutch will be always for that Prince who Ihall moft favour their trade. There was much to be obtained from the Czar, and therefore it is not furprizing that the Minifters of England and Hol- land fhould ferve him fecretly at the Ottoman Porte. .One of the conditions of this new alliance was, that Chailes fhould be immediately obliged to quit the Turkifii Empire ; whether it was that the Czar hoped to feize his perfou on the road, or that he thought Cfeailes lefs formidable in his own kingdom than in Turkey* where he was always on the point of arming the Ottoman troops againft the Ruffian Empire. The King of Sweden was continually foliciting the Porte to fend him back through Poland with a nume- ,TOUs army. The Divan, in fa *^ land, our ancient allies, to cultivate a lading peace <' with us, we have granted his requeft, and ^iven to << his Plenipotentiaries, who remain with us as hoftagesi *< our Imperial ratification, after having received hii •* from their hands. " We have given to the rooft honourable and valiant << Delvet-Gheiai, Kam of Budziack, Crim Tartaryi << Nagay, and Circadia, and to our mod fage Counfd< " lor and generous Serafkier of Bender, Ifmael, (majf << God perpetuate and augment their magnificence and << wifdom), our inviolable and falutaty oiders for yoiir " return through Poland, according to your fiid de* <* fire^ which hath been renewed to us in your name. «< You mud therefore prepare to depart under the auf- <« pices of Providence, and with an honourable guard, «* before the approaching winter, in order to return to " your own territories, taking <:are to pafs as a friend " through thofe of Poland, " Whatever diall be neceflkry for your journey fhaH ** be furnidied you by 107 ^\i>\va\^ ^otvt^ as well in KING OF SWEDEN. 177 " money as m men, horfcs, and waggons. We, above *• all things, exhort and recommend to you, to give " the moft pofitive and prccife orders to all the Swedes •* and other perfons in your retinue, to commit no out- •* rage, nor be guilty.of any adiion that may tend either •* diredlly or indiredly to violate this peace and alliance. ** You will by thefe means prefer ve our goodwill, of ** which we (hall endeavour to give you as great and •* as frequent marks as occafion (hall oflFer. Our troops «* deftined to accompany you (hall receive orders con- ** formable to our Imperial intentions." Given at our Sublime Port of Conftatitinople the fourteenth of the tnoon Rehyul Eurech 1214, luhich anf-wers to the nineteenth of ^pril 1712. This letter did not yet deprive the King of Sweden of his hopes : be wrote to the Sultan, that he (hould ^ver retain a grateful remembrance of the favours his Highnefs had beftowed on him, but that he believed the Sultan too jud to fend him back with the Hmple guard of a flying camp into a country ftill over-run by tnc Czar's troops. In effe(5l, the Emperor of Ruflia, notwithftanding the firft article of the peace of the Pruth, by which he engaged himfelf to withdraw all his troops from Poland, had fent frefli ones into that kingdom ; and what appears furprizing, the Grand 178 HISTORY op CHARLES XII. and having no foreign correfpondence, is cominoolf deceived hlmfelf, or elfe deceives the Saltan, who de« pofes, or orders him to be ftrangled for the fir ft fault, in order to chufe another MiniAer as ignorant or a& perfidious, ^^ ho behaves like his predecefTors, and (bon fhares the fame fate. Such, for the mod part, is the inadtvity and the • profound fecurity of this Court, that were the Chriftian rrinces to league themfelvcs againit it, their fleets might be at the Dardanelles, and their land forces at the gates of Adriiinople, before the Turks would dream or de- fending themfelves ; but tlie different interefts which will ever divide the Chriftian world, will preferve the Turks from a fate to which, by their want of policy, and by their ignorance of the art of war both by fea and land, they feem at prefent expofed. Achmet was fo little informed of what pafled in Po- land, that he fent an Aga to fee v/hether it was true that tlie Czar's troops were ftill in that country : the King of Sweden's two Secretaries, who underftood the Turkilli language, accompanied the Aga, and were to ferve as witnefTes againft him, in cafe he ftiould make a falfe report. This Aga faw the trutli of the King's aflertion with his own eyes, and informed the Sultan of every parti- cular. Achmet, fired with indignation, was going to ftrangle the Grand Vizier ; but the favourite who pio- te(5tcd him, and who thought he (hould have occafion for him, obtained his pardon, and fupported him fome time longer in the miniftry. The Ruflians were now openly efpoufed by the Vi- zier, and fecretly by Ali Coumourgi, who had changed fides ; but the Sultan was fo provoked, the infraftion of the treaty was fo manifeft, and the Janiffaries, who often make the minifters, the favouiites, and even the Sultans tremble, demanded war with fuch clamour, that no one in the Seraglio durft offer a more mode- rate propofal. The Grand Seignior immediately committed to the . Seven Towers xhe Ruffian Ambaffadors, who were now a« Kli«i OF SWEDEN. lyr) as'inoch accuftomed to go to prifon as to an audience. War was declared afrelh againft the Czar, the horfe- tails were difplayed, and orders were given to all the .Pachas to aflembl^ an army of two hundred thoufand men. The Sultan himfelf quitted Conftantlnople, and went to fix his court at Adrianople, that he might be nearer to the feat of war. In the mean time a folemn embafTy, fent to ihe Grand Seignior by Auguftns and the Republic of Po- land, was advancing on the road- to Adrianople. At the head of the embaify was the Palatine of Mazovia, with a retinue of above three hundred perfons. Every one that compofed the embafly was feized and imprifoned in one of the fuburbs of the city : never was the I^ng of Sweden's party more fanguine than on this occafion ; and yet this great preparation was rendered ufelefs, and all their hopes were again difappointed. If we may believe a public minifter, a man of faga- city and penetiation, who rcfided at that time at Con- ftantinople, young Coumourgi had already other de* figns in his head than that of difputing a defert coun- try with the Czar by a doubtful war. He had propofed to ftrip the Venetians of the Peloponncfus, now called the Morea, and to make- himfelf mafter of Hungary. He waited only for the execution of his great de- figns till he (hould have attained the poft of Grand Vi- zier, from which he was Aill excluded on account of his youth. In this view it was more for his advantage to be the ally than the enemy of the Czar, It was neither his intercft nor his inclination to keep the Krng of Sw^eden any longer, and Hill lefs to arm the Turk- . ifh empire in his favour. He not only defired to dif- mifs that Prince> but he openly faid that for the future no Chriftian Ambaffador ought to' be fuflFered at Con- ilantinople ; that all thefe Minifters in ordinary were but fo many honourable fpies, who corrupted or be- trayed the Viziers, and had' too long influenced the Intrigues of the Seraglio ; and that the Franks -fettled at Pera, and in the Strcightfr of the Levant, were met chants, who needed a Conful only, and not an i8o HISTORY OF CHARLES XH Amba/TaJor. The Grand Vizier, who owed his pod and his life to the favouritey and, what was more, ftood in fear of him, complied with his intention with die more alacrity, as he had fold himfelf to the Ruffians, and hoped by this means to be revenged on the King of Sweden, who had endeavoured to ruin him. Toe Mufti, a creature of Ali Coumourg^, was alio the flavo to his will : he had advifed the war with Rudia, whea the favourite wiihed it ; but the moment this young man changed his opinion, he pronounced it to be nn* juft : thus was the army • hardly aOembled before they began to liften to propofals of accommodation. The Vice-chancellor Schaffirof, and young Czeremcto£[^ hoflages and plenipotentiaries of the Czar at the Porte, promifed, after feveral negociations, that the Czar Ihould withdraw his troops from Poland. The Grand Vizier, who well knew that the Czar would never ex- ecute this treaty, made no fcruple to fign it ; and the Sultan, fatisfied with having in appearance impofed laws on the Rudians, remained dill at Adrianople. Thus, in lefs than (ix months, was peace ratified with the Czar, war declared, and peace renewed again. The principal article of all thefe treaties was to o« blige the King of Sweden to depart. The Sultan„ however, was not willing to endanger his own honomr, and that of the Ottoman Empire, by expofing the King to the rifk of his being taken by his enemies on the road. It was (lipulated that he (hould depart, but on condition that the Amba^idors of Poland and MnP* covy (hould be refponfible for the fafcty of his perfon : thefe AmbafTadors accordingly fwore, in the name of their mafters, that neither the Czar nor the King of Poland (hould moleil him on his journey ; and Charles was to engage, on his part, (bat l>e would not attempt to excite any commotions in Poland. The Divan ha- ving thus fettled the fiUe of Charles, Ifmael Scrafkicr of Bender, repaired to Varnitza, where the ICing was encamped, to acquaint him with the refolutions of the Porte, in&nuating to him. with gre^t addrefs, that there RfNG OF SWEDEN. i8i wasTio longer time for delay, and that he muft necef- farily depart. Charles made no other anfwer tlian that the Grand Sergnior had ])rom[red htm an army, and not a guard, and that Kings ought to keep their word. In the mean time Greneral Fleming, the Mfnifter and favourite of Augudus, maintained a fecret correfpon- dence with tlie Kam of -Turtary and the Serafkier cf Bender. La Mare, a French gentleman, a Colonel in the fervice of Saxony, had made more than one jour- ney from Bender to Drefden, and all thefe journles were fufpicious. • At this very time the King of Sweden caufed a Cou- rier, whom Fleming had fent to the Tartarian l^ince, to be arreded on the frontiers of Walachra. The let- ter* were brought to him, and decyphered ; from whence it clearly appeared that a coriefpondence was carried on between the Tartars and the Court of Dref- den ; but the letters were conceived in Aich ambiguous and general terms,' that it was diiHcult to dil'cover, whether Auguftus only intended to detach the Turks frcFm the intereft of Sweden, or whether he meant that the Kam fhould deliver Charles to his Saxons as he conduded him back to Poland^ • It feems hard to believe that a Prince fo generous as Auguftus, would, be feizing the perfon of the King of Sweden, endanger the lives of his Ambafladors, and of three hundred Polilh gentlemen, who Were de- tained at Adrianople as pledges for Charles's f:ifety. But on the other hand it is well- known, that He- njing, the abfolute Minifter of Auguftus, was a fubtle man, and not very fcrupulous. The outrages com- mitted on the King Eledlor by the King of Sewden might fecm to render any revenge excufable ; and it might be thought, that if the Court of Drefden could buy Charles from the Kam of Tartary, they would • cafily purchafe the liberty of the Polilh hoftages at the Ottoman Porte. All thefe rcafons were difcuffed by the Sing, MuK Icm his Privy Chancellor, and Grothufcu bi^ fe^^^^xl^ ^ 3 . i>wi. i82 HISTORY OF CHARLES XIT. rite. Thtj read the letters again and again; and, their unhappy (ituaticn making them more Aifpiciou^ thay refolded to believe the worfl. A few days after, the King was confirmed in his fufpicions by the precipitate depaiture of Count Sa- pieha^ who had taken refuge with him, and now quit- ted him abruptly, to go to Poland to throw hiinfelf into the arms of Auguftus. In any other fitudtion he would have regarded Sapteha only as a malcontent; hut in his prefent delicate condition he did nothefitate^ to believe him traitor. The repeated importunities, with which they now preiTed him to depart, converted his fufpicions into certainty. The obflinacy of his temper coinciding- with thefe appearances, confirmed him in the opinion that they intended to betray him and deliver him up to his enemies, though this plot hath never been fully provedi^ He might deceive himfelf in fuppofing that Augufr tus had made a bargain- with the Tartars for bis perkm ;; but he was much more deceWed in relying on thefuc- cours of the Ottoman Court, fie that ;is it will, he refolved to gain time. He told tb^ Pacha of Bender, that he could, not de- part without having money to pay his debts; for though his " thaim" had for a long time been tefto- red to him, his liberality had always obliged him to borrow. The Pacha aiked him how mucli he wanted 'The King replied, at a hazard, a.thoufand livres purfes, amounting to fifteen hundred thoufand livres. of our money in the beil coin. The Pacha wrote to the Porte 'y and the Sultan, in the room of a thoufand purfes which Charles had aiked, fent twelve hundred, and wrote the Pacha the following letter : Letter from tha, G&and StiGNioR to the. Paqha of Bem- PIR. << The pucrport of this Imperial letter is to acquaint ** you, that upon your reprefentation and recommen- «< dation, and upon ths^t o^ the mod noble Dclvet- <' C well guarded, and befulcs the Minifter was againft liim, that his letters never reached the Sultan ; nay, ihc Vizier flopped M. des Alkurs from coming to A- drianople, where the Porte tlien was, for fear that Mi- niller, who was an Agent of the King of Sweden; ihould endeavour to difconcert the plan he had formed for obliging him to depart. Charles, enraged at feeing himfelf thus hunted, as it were, from the Grand Seignior's dominions, detenni- • ned not to quit them at all. He niic!;ht h.ive defined to return through the terri- ■ tnries of Gern^anv, or to take Ihipping on the Black Sea, in order to fail to Marfeilles by the Mediterrane* an ; but he rather chcfe to aik nothing, and to wait the event. When the twelve hundred purffs were ariived, his iiealViier Grcihufen, who had learned the Turkilh Ian'- guage during his long ftay in the country, went to wait upon the Pacha without an interpreter, with the defign of drawing the money from him, and then to form fonic new intrigue at the Porte, being continual- jy held up by iJie f(;oli]h fuppofition, that the Swedilh ]. ,irty won Id at la it be able to arm the Ottoman Eni«- j;ire a;jjain(t tlie C/:'.r. GrLiliufen K Id ihe Pacha, that the King wasnota- Me to piepare his equipages without money, " But," ?aid tlic Pacha, " we Ihall fettle all the expences of *' \our de^aiture; your mafter has no occafion to be "at KING OF SWEDEN. 185 " af any expence while he continues under the protec- '• tion of mine," Grothufen replied, that there was fo much difference between the equipages of the Turks and' thofe of the F*ranks» that they were obliged to have recourfe to the Litificers of Sweden and Poland refident at Varn!t2a. He a/Tured htm that his mafter was difpofed to de- tarty and that this money would facilitate and haften lis departure. The Pacha, too credulous, gave the welve hundred purfes ; and attended the King a few lays after, in a mod refpedful manner, to receive his orders for his departure. Hb furprize was inconceivable, when the King told im he was not yet ready to go, and that he wanted a boafand purfes more. The Pacha, confounded at this ofwer, was fome time before he could fpeak. He ben retired to a window, where he was obferved to led fome tears. At laft, addrefling himfelf to the king, '* I (hall lofe my head," fays he, " for having obliged your Majefty: I have given you the twelve bundled puifes againd the exprefs orders of my So- Tercign." Having faid this he withdrew, oppreffed rtth gi fef. As he was going, the King (lopped him, and faid> aat he would excufe him to the Sultan. «* Ah !" re- lied the Turk, as he departed, ** My mafter knows not how to excufe faults, he knows only to punifh them." Ifinael Pacha carried this piece of news to the Kam, 'ho had received the fame orders with the Pacha, not "> fuffer the twelve hundred purfes to be given to the ling before his departure, and yet had confented toi ic delivery of the money ; he was as apprehenfive as le Pacha of the indignation of the Grand Seignior, licy both wrote to the P*>rte to jnftify themfelves; pro- ifting that they had given the twelve hundred purfes pon the foler^jn promifes of the King's Minifter that c would depart without delay ; and befee^Jiing hi^ Ii|^hnefs not to impute the King's xef\iikl to their difc* pdicnce. i.V> HISTORY OF CHARLES Xll. Charles ftill perfifting in the idea that the Kam and " Pacha wanted to deliver him up to his enemies, order- ed M. Funk, at that time his Envoy at the Ottoman Court, to lay his complaints againd them before the Sultan, and to a(k a thoufand purfes more. His own fijrcat generofity, and the little account he made of money, hindered him from feeing the meannefs of this prnpofal. He did it merely to have a refufal, and In order to have a frelli pretext for not departing. But it is to be reduced to ttrange extremities to ftand in ncjd of fuch artilices. Savari, his interpreter, an att* !j ful and entcrpii/ing man, carried his letter to Adrian^ f>ple in fpite of the lUiclnefs which the- Grand Vizier had ufed to guard the palfes. Funk was obliged to make this dangerous demand. All the anfwer he received was to be thrown into pri* fon. ITie Sultan, enraged, convoked an Extraordi- nary Divan, and, what very feldom happens, fpoke* hinofelf on the occafion. His fpeech, according to the j: tranflation then made of it, was as follows : " I have fcarce known the King of Sweden but bf ' ** his defeat at Pultowa, and by the prayer he prefer* <* red to me to grant him an af)ium in my dominiorA " I have not, I believe, any need of him ; nor anyrea- " fnn cither to love or fear him: notwithllanding, with- " out confulting any other motives than the hofpitality " of a MulTnlman, and my own generofity, which llieds •* the dew of its favours upon the great as well as iht ** Imall ; upon ftrangers as well as my own fuhjefts; I ** have received and fuccourcd him with all things. •* himfelf, his Minifters, Officers, and foldiers, and have .** not ceafcd for thefe three years and a half to loaJ •* liim with prefcnts. " I liave granted him a confiderable guard to con- " du<5l him into his own kingdom. He alked a thou- •* fand purfes to defray fome expences, though I pay " them all. Inftead of a thoufand I granted hini •* twelve hundred. After having got thefe out of ll»c ** hands of the Serafkier of Bender, he afks a thonUJ^d <^* purfes more, and rcfufcs tc depart, under a pretence «* tbui KING OF SWEDEN. 187 ^* that the guard is too fmalU whereas it Is but too ** large to pafs through the country of a friend. " I afk then, whether it be to violate the laws of «• hofpitality to fend back this Prince ; and whether " for-cign Powers ought to accufe me of violence and ** injuftice, in cafe I (hould be obliged to compel him •• by force to depart. AH the Divan anfwered, that the Grand Seignior a&ed with juftice. The Mufti declared that hofpitali- ty from Muifulmen towards Infidels was not command- -ed» and much lefs towards the ungrateful ; and he gave his Fetfa, a kind of mandate which generally ac- companies the important orders of the Grand Seignior. Thefe Fetfas are revered as oracles, though the very perfons by whom they are given are as much flaves to the Sultan as any others. '^. The order and the Fetfa were carried to Bender by the Boyouk Imraour, Grand-Mafter of the Horfe, and a Chiaou Pacha, firft Ufher. The Pacha of Bender received the order at the hojfe of the Kam of Tarta- ry, from whence he immediately repaired to Vamitza to afk the King whether he would depart as a friend, or reduce him to the neceffity of putting the orders of tlie Sultan in execution. Charles thus menaced was not matter cf his paflion. *« Obey your mafter if you dare," faid he, «* and leave ** my preience." Thc-Pacha fired with indignation re- turned at full gallop, contrary to the ufual cuftom of the Turks ; and chancing to meet Fabricius in his way, he cried out to him, without checking his horfe, " The •* King will not hear reafon ; you will fee ftrange ** things prefently. The fame day he difcontinued the fupply of the King's provifions, and removed his guard of Janiffaries. He caufed intimation to be gi- ven to all the Poles and Coffacks at Varnitza that if they wiftied to have any provifions, they muft quit the camp of the King of »Sweden, and repair to Bender, and put themfelves under the protedlion of the Porte. They all obeyed, and left the King without any otlier .. attendants than the officers of his houfhold, and three i{>8 HISTORY OF CHARLES XIT. hundred Swedifh foldiers to make head againft twenty thoufand Tartars and fix thoufand Turks. There was now no provifion in the camp either for the men or their horfes. The King ordered twenty of tlie 6ne Arabian horfes which had been fent hiro by the Grand Seignior to be (hot without the camp, faying, ** I will have none of their proyifions nor their «• horfes." This was an excellent regale to the Tar- tars, who, as is well known, think horfe-flefh delicious food. In the mean time the Turks and Tartars inveft- ed the King's little camp on every fide. The King, without the lead difcompofnre, made a regular intrenchment with his three hundred Swedes, in which work he himfelf affiled ; his Chancellor, his Treafurer, his Secretaries, his valets-de-chambre, and all his domeftics, giving likewife their afliftance. Some banicadoed the windows, and others fattened beams behind the doors in the form of buttreffes. As foon as the houfe was fufficiently barricadoed, and the King had gone round his pretended fortifica- tions, he fat down to chefs with his favourite Grothu- fen with as much tranquillity as if every thing was in the greateft fecurity. Happily M. Fabricius, the En- voy of Holftein did not lodge at Varnitza, but at a fmall village between Varnitza and Bender, where Mr JeflFreys, the Englifh Envoy to the King of Sweden, likewife refided. Thefe two Minifters, feeing the ftorm ready to burft, took on themfelves the office of media- tors between the Turks and the King. I'he Kam, and cfpecially the Pacha of Bender, who had no mind to offer violence to the Swedifti Monarch, received with eagernefs the offers of thefe two Minifters. They had two conferences at Bender, in which they were aflifted by the Ulher of the Seraglio and the Grand Mafterof the Horfe, who had brought the Sultan's order and the Mufti's Fetfa.* M. Fabricius * declared to them that his Swedifli Majefty had many coTjcnt reafons to believe that they meant * The whole of this account is rc\*xed V>^ M., Fabricius in hii ■Letter.. KING OP SVVEDEN. 1S9 leant to deliver him up to his enemies in Poland. The Kam, the Pacha, and all the reft, fwore by their cads, and called -God to witnefs, tliat they detefted >hornble a perfidy, and that they would fhed thelafl rop of their blood rather than fuffer fiich difre- yc€t to be fhewn to the King in Poland ; adding, that ley had in their hands the Ruffian and Poliifh Am- ifladors who would anfwer with their lives for the ail affront that fliould be offered to the King of Swe- en. In fine, they complained bitterly that the King lould conceive fuch injurious fufpicions again ft people rho had received him fo politely, and treated him with ) much humanity. Though oaths are frequently the mguage of perfidy, Fabricius fuffered himfelf to be erfuaded by the Tuiks : he thought he could difcern 1 their proteftations that air of truth which falfehooti an, at beft, but imitate imperfedlly. He knew per- ;dly well there had been a fecret correfpondence be- wreen the Kam of Tartary and King Auguftus ; but c was at laft perfuaded, that the only efid of their ne* ;ociation was to oblige Charles XI I. to quit the domi- lions of the Grand Seignior. Whether Fabricius, de- cived himfelf or not, he aflured them, that he would eprefent to the King the injuftice of his fufpicions. ' But," adds he, " do you intend to compel him to • depart :*' *' Yes,'* fays the Pacha, •* fuch is the or- ' der of our mafter." He then entreated them to onfider ferioufly whether that order implied that bey ihould Ihed the blood of a crowned head. " Yes," eplies the Kam in a paflion, " if that crowned head ' difobeys the Grand Seignior in his dominions." In tiie mean time every thing being ready for the flault, the death of Charles Xil. feemed inevitable ; ut the order of the Sultan not exprefsly faying whe- !icr they '^vere to kill him in cafe of refiftance, the Pa- ha prevailed on the Kam to let him difpatch an ex- refs to AdriaiiOple where tlie Grand Seignior then edded, to receive the laft orders of his Highnefs. M. Jeffreys ar.d M. Fabricius, having procured this lort refpite, haftcned to acquaint the King with it : S «cv^^ 190 HISTORY OF CHARLES Xn. they arrived with all the eagernefs of people who biir.g good news ; but were received very coldly : he called them ofHclous mediators, and dill perfided in his opi- nion that the order of the Sultan and the Fetfa of the Mufti were both forged, inafmuch as they had fent to the Porte for frefh orders. The EnglUh Minifter retired firmly refblvcd to iiv terfere no more in the affairs of fo inflexible a Prince. M. Fabriciusy beloved by the King, and more accuif- tomed to his humour than die EngliHi Minifter, remain- ed with him, to conjure him^not to hazard fo preciouf a life on fuch an unnece^ary^ccafion. The King for anfwer fiiewed him his fortifications> and begged he would employ hjs mediation only to procure nim fome provifions. The Tutks were eafily prevailed upon to allow proviHons to be conveyed to the King's camp until the return of the courier from Adrianople. The Kam himfelf had ftri&ly enjoined his Tartars, who were eager for pillage, not to make any attempt againil the Swedes till the arrival of freili orders ; fo that Charles^ went fometimes out of bis camp with forty horfe, and rode through the midft of thic Tartars ; who with great refpeft left him a free paffage: he would even ride up in front of their lines, which ^ thev opened rather than relift him. At lad the order of liie Grand Seigriior being come, to put to the fword all the Swedes who Ihould make the leaft refiftance, and not «ven to fpare the life of the King, the Pacha had the complaifance to ihew the order to M. Fabricius, to the end that he might make his la ft effort to turn the obftinacy of Charles. Fabri- cius went immediately to acquaint him with thefe fad tidings. '* Have you feen the order you fpeak o(:" faid the King. «* Yes," replied Fabricius. " Well " then go tell them in my name that this fecond order *« is another forgery, and that I will not depart." Fa- ' bricius threw himfelf at his feet, fell into a paflion, and reproached him with his obftinacy ; but a!l to no pnr- pcie. " Return to youi Turks/' (aid the King to him, KING OF SWEDEN. 1911 fihiling ; " if they attack me, I (hall know how to de- « fend myfelf." The King's Chaplains likewife threw tliemfelves on their knees before him, conjuring him not to expofe to cef tain death tlie unhappy remains of Pultowa, and e- fpecially his own facred perfon ; aflfuring him that re- fiftance in fuch a cafe was altogether unjuftifiable ; and tliat it was a direift violation of all the laws of hofpita- lity, to refolvc to continue againft their will with Gran- gers who had fo long and fo generoufly fupported him. The King, though he had not been angry with Fabri- cius, fell into a paffion with his Priefts, and told them, that he had taken them to pray for him, and not to give him advice. The Generals Hord and DardofF, whofe fentimcnts had alway* been againft hazarding a battle which couli ■ not fail of proving unfuccefsful, the wed the King their breafts covered with wounds which they had received in his fervice,. and aflured him that they were ready to lay down theu lives for him ; but begged that k might be, at leaft, upon a more neceflary occafion. •• I know, by your wounds and my own/' fays Charles to them, " that we have fought valiantly together. " You have done your duty hitherto ; do it to-day " likewife." Nothing now remained but to obey. E- very one was afhamed not to court death with their King. This Prince, being now prepared for the af- iitult, flattered himfelf in fecret that he fhould have the honour of fuftaining with three hundred Swedes the efforts of a whole army. He afligned to every man his poft : his. Chancellor MuUeren, and the Secretary Empreus and his Clerks, were to defend the Chancery- houfe; Baron Hef, at the head of the officers of the kitchen, was ftationed at another poft ; the grooms of the ftable.and the cooks had another place to guard ; for with him every one was a foldier: he then rode from the intrenchments to his houfe, promifing re- wards to every one, creating Officers, and afluring them that he would make Captains of the very meaa- eft of his fervants who (hould fight with courage. S 2 \\. L92 HISTORY OF CHARLES XII. It was not long before they beheld the army of Turks and Tartars advancing to attack this littl< trenchment with ten pieces of cannon and two mor The horfes tails waved in the air ; the clarions fo «d ; the cries of " Alia, Alia,*' were heard on e fide. Baron Grothufen remarked, that the Turk* not mix in their cries any injurious reflexions ag the King, hut that they only called him " Demirbs (head of iron.) He therefore inftantly refolved t out of the camp alone and unarmed ; and accord! advanced to the lines of the JaniflTartes, moft of w had received money from him. " What, my frier fays he to them in their own language, " are you c •' to maflHcre three hundred Swedes who are defi " lefs ? You, brave Janiflaries, whoJiave pardoned ** thoufand Ruffians upon their crying amman (pard ** have you forgot the many favours you have recc ** from us ? and would you afiaffinate this great 1 ** of Sweden, whom you love, and whofe liberality " have fo often experienced ? My friends, he defire «* three days, and the orders of the Sultan are n *' ^rif^^ Sweden, propoied to go- to him in perfon, to intreat him to put himfelf into their hands, and to permit them to ferve -hira as guards The Pacha agreed to k, as there was no expedient he would not have adopted^ rather than have been re- duced to the necdiity of IcilUng this Prince. Thefe fizty old veterans accordila^y repaired the next morn- ing to Vamitza,. having, nothing, in their hands but long white rods, the only arms of the Janlflaries when they^are not at war; for the Turks regard as a barba- rous cuftom the Chridian manner of wearing fwords in time of peace, and going armed into the houfes of their friends and the churches. • They addrefled themfelves to Bviron Grothiwen and Chancellor Mulleren^ they told them tliat they came to feive as faithful guards to the King; and that if he pleiafeil they would. conduA him to Adrtanople, where he mights' himfelf fpeak to tlie. Grand Seignior. At the tinrie they were making this propofal, the King, was reading letters which wer«; brought from Con/lantino- ple, and which .Fabricius, who could no longer attend him*^ in perfon,. had fent him fecretly by a Janiifary. They were from Count Poniatowfky, who could nei- ther, ferve him at Bender nor Adrianople, being de- tained at- CondanCinople by order of the Porte, from the time of his^Tflaking the imprudent demand of the thoufand purfes. He informed the King^ *< that the ** orders of the Sultan to feize or maffacre his royal ** perfon in cafe of reilftance, were but too true : that ** indeed the Sultan was deceived by his Minivers ; but " that the more he was impofed upon, he would for " that very teafoD be the more faitlifully obeyed : that S3 "be tlie letters of Poniatowfky, could give the Ki an idea that he could yield without incurring dil He chole rather to perilh by the hands ofxht than to be in any Tefpe<5t their prilbner ; he t difmifled the Janiflaries without deigning to f< and fent them word, that if they did not imm depart, he would cut oflF their beards ; whici Kaftern countries, is efteemed the. moil outraj all afFronts. The old men, filled with the moft lively lion, returned home, crying out as they wen •• tliis head of iron I fmce he will periih^let him They went and gave the Pacha an account commifTlon, and informed their comrades at B the Ilrange reception they had met with. Ei then fwore to obey the Pacha's orders withoi and were as impatient to begin the aiTault as t been backward the day before. The word of command was immediately gi^ Turks marched up to the intrencbments ; the were already waiting; for them, and the canno to play. The Janiflaries on the one fide, and tars on the other, in an inftant forced the littl hardly twenty Swedes drew their fwords : th KING OF SWEDEN. 195 Accordingly he galloped vrith them up to the houfe, ia which he had placed about forty domeftics as centi- nels, and which- he had fortified in the bed manner he was able. Thefc Generals, accuftomed a£ they were to the dauntlefs intrepidity of their mafter, were furprifed to fee him refolre ia cold blood, and even with an air of pleafantry, to defend himfelf aeainft ten^pieces of can- non and a whole army : they followed him with fonie guards and domeRics, making in all about twenty per- ions. When they came to the door, they found it befieged by the Janiflaries; two hundred Turks and Tartars had already entered by a window, and had made them- felves matters of all the apartments, except a large hall, into ^ich the King's domeftics had retired. This hall was happily near the door at which the King de- figned to enter with his little troop of twenty peribns ; he threw himfelf off his^ horle with piftol and iword in hand, and his followers did the fame* ^ The Janiflaries fell upon him on all fides : they were animated., by the promife which the Pacha had made of eight ducats of gold to every one who iliould only touch his clothes, in cafe they could take him. He . wounded and killed whoever approached his perfon. A Jantifary whom he had wounded clapped his car- bine to his face, and had not his arm- been puihed a- fide by the motion of the crowd, which moved.back*. wards and forwards like a wave, the King had cer- tainly been killed. The ball grazed upon his nofe, and carried away with it the tip of his ear». and then broke the arm of General Hord, whofe deftiny it was to be always wounded by the fide of his mafter« The King plunged hisfword in the Janiffax7's breaft i. at the fame time nis domeftics, who were fhut up in the great hall, opened the door : the King entered like an arrow, followed by his little troop ; they inftant- ly (hut the door, and barricadoed it with, whatever tliey could find. In this manner was* Charles XII. ihnt up. in a. hall with all his attendants^ confifting of about luaacn appcrofound reiped, and entreated him to repofe himfelf on a ro[dia ; but the King, not regarding the T'uik's oivilities, continued ilanding. «« Biefled be the Almighty," faid the Pacha, "that ** your MajeCly is alive : my defpair is bitter at having -^* been obliged by your Majefty to execute the orders •• of his Highnefs." The King, only vexed that his three hundred foldicrs fuflPered themfelves to be taken* in their intrenchments, replied, "** Ahi had i^y foldicrs " defended themfelves as dieyw^&^ thet KING OF SWEDEN. 201 could not refrain from tears. The Pacha was at the head of the efcort.' Fabricius reprefented it to him, that it was (hameful the King Ihould want a fword, and begged he would give him one. " God forbid !*' faid the racha, " he would cut our beards for us if he " had one." However, in a few hours after he gave him one. As they were thus condu<5ting this King difarmed and a prifoner, who but a few years before had given law to fo many States, and had feen himfelf the arbi- ter of the North and the terror of Europe, there ap- peared in the fame place another example of the frailty of human grandeur. King Staniflaus had been feized in the Turkifh dominions, and they were now carrying him to Bender, at the very time that they were carry- ing Charles from it. Staniflaus being no longer fupportcd by the hand which had made him king, and finding himfelf with- out money, and confequently without intereft in Po* land, had retired at firft into Pomerania ; and not be- ing able to preferve his own kingdom, he had done every thing, as far as was in his power, to defend the dominions of his benefador. He had even gone to Sweden, in order to haften the reinforcements that were fo much wanting in Livonia and Pomerania ; in fhort, he had done every thing that could be expedled from the friend of Charles XII. At this time the firft King of Pruflia, a very prudent Prince, being juftly apprchenfive of the too near neighbourhood of the Mufcovites, thought of entering into a league with Auguftus and the Republic of Poland, in order to fend back the Ruffians to their own country, and of enga-^ ging Charles XII. himfelf in this projedt. Three great events were to be produced by this plan ; the peace of* the North, the return of Charles to his own dominions, and the eftablifhment of a ftrong barrier againft the Ruf- fians, already become formidable to Europe. The pre- liminary article of this treaty, upon which the public tranquillity depended, was the abdication of Stanif- laus ; who not only accepted the jpropoCal, but even T ^W\^^ 202 HISTORY OF CHARLES XIT. charged himfelf with being the negociator of a peace which deprived him of his crown. Neceflity, the pub- lic welfare, the glory of the facrifice, and the intercft of Charles, to whom he owed every thing, and whom he loved, decided him. He wrote to Bender; «• plained to the King of Sweden the Qt nation of his af- fairs, their misfortunes, and their remedy ; and con- jured him not to oppofe an abdication become necef- fary from the courfe of events, and honourable from its motives : he alfo entreated him not to facrifice the interefts of Sweden to thofe of an unhappy friend, who facrificed himfelf without repining to the public good. Charles received ■ thefe letters at Vamitza» and faid to the courier in a paflion, in prefence of feveral witnefo, ** If my fi iend v^ll -not be a King, 1 fhall be able to *' make one of another perfon." Staniflaus was- bbilinately ben^on the Sacrifice which Charles oppofed. The times feem as if they were dd- tined by Providence to produce ftrange fentiments, and ft ill more extraordinary anions. Staniflaus refolved to go himfelf and prevail on Charles, though he ran a greater rifk in abdicating the throne than ever he had done in obtaining it. One evening, about- fix o'clock, he ftole from the Swedifh army, which he commanded in Pomerania, and fet -out; accompanied by Baron Sparr, who hath fince been an AmbafFador in Eng- land and France, and another Colonel. He aflumed the name of a Frenchman called Haran, then a Major in the Swediih army, and who lately died'Commander of Dantzic. He paffed clofe by the whole army of the enemy ; was fometimes ftopped, and as often releafed by virtue of a pafTport which he had in the name of Haran ; and at laft, after many perils and dangers, arrived on the frontiers of Turkey. When he had reached Moldavia, he fent back Baron Sparr to his army, and entered Yafly, the capital of Moldavia, thinking himfelf fafe in a country where the King of Sweden had been treated fo refpedlfully : he - was far from fufpe<5ling what was then paffing. . He was afk^d 'wVio \vt vj^l-^', x.o 7«\v\^ \\& ^uCwered, KING OF SWEDEN. 203 tkat he was a Major of a regiment in the fervice of Charles XII. At the very mention of the name he was feized, and carried before the Hofpodar of Mol- davia, who, having already learned from the Gazettes that Staniflaus had privately withdrawn from his army, conceived fome fufpicions of the truth. The King's countenance had been defcribed to him, which was very cafily diftinguifhed by its fulnefs as well as its a- greeablenefs, and an air of fwectnefs which ^c poflelFed to an uncommon degree. The Hofpodar interrogated him, put to him a great many captious queftions, and at lafl afked htm what commiffion he held in the Swedifh army. Staniflaus and the Hofpodar carried on their converfation in La- tin. ** Major fum^^ faid Staniflaus. •* Itno Maxlmus et^* replied the Moldavian $ and immediately prefented him with a chair of flate. He treated him as a King, but yet like a King who was a prifoner, and he placed a.ftii6t guard about a Greek convent, in which he was obliged to remain till they received the Sultan's orders. The orders were to conduct him to Bender, from which place Charles XII. had been juft removed. The news of this event was brought to the Pacha at the time he was accompanying the King of Sweden's carriage. The Pacha immediately acquainted FabM- cius with ity who, approaching Charles's chariot, told him he was not the only King that was a prifoner in the hands of the Turks, for that Staniflaus was but a few miles o£F, under a guard of foldiers. '* Run to •* him, my dear Fabricius," faid Charles, without be- ing difconcerted at the accident ; ** tell him never to *' make peace with Auguflus, and affure him that in ** a little time our affairs will change." So inflexible was Charles in his own opinions, that abandoned as he' was in Poland, attacked in his own dominions, a cap- tive in a Turkifh litter, and led a prifoner without knowing whither they were carrying him, he flill cpunted on fortune, and flill expedled to have an hun- dred thoufand men from the Ottoman Porte. Fabri- cius haflcned to execute his commifHon, attended by a T 2 Vxsx^6x^> 204 HISTORY OF CHARLES XIT. J:mi/rary, having obtained permiffion from the Pachdi At a few miles di(lance he met the body of foldiers that condu<5ted Staniflaus : he addre/fed himfelf to a Cavalier that rode in the midft of them, clad in a French drefs> and but indiflFerently mounted,-^Dd a(k- ed him in the German tongue where the King of Po- land was. The perfon to whom he fpoke was Stani- flaus himfelf, whom he did not lecolle^l under this difguife. ** What I" faid the King, " do you no longer •• remember me ?" Fabriqius then rcprefcntcd to him the wretched ftate in which the King of Sweden was, and his unalterable but ufelefs obdinacy in his defigns. As Staniflaus approached Bender, the Pacha-, who was upon his return,, after having accompanied Qiarles feveral miles, fent the King of Poland axx Arabian horfe, with a magnificent hamefs. He was received at Bender amidd a difcharge of the artillery ; and excepting his liberty, of which he was at firil deprived, he had no caufe to complain of tbe treatment he met with.* In the mean time Charles was condudled to Adrianople. That tawn was already filled with the account of his late battle. The Turks condemned and admired him at the fame time ; but the Divan, exafperated, already threatened to confine him in one of the Iflands of the Archipelago. Staniflaus, King of Poland, who did me the honour to inform me of the greateft part of thefe particulars, aflured me alfo, that it was propofed in the Divan to confine him likewife in one of the Iflands of Greece ; but a few months after, the Grand Seignior, being mollified, permitted him to depart. M. des Alleurs, who could have taken his part, and could have prevented them from offering fuch an af- front to every Chriftian King, was at Conftantinople; as was alfo M. Poniatowflcy, whofe fertile and enter- prifing genius they had ever dreaded. The greateft pare * The good Chaplain Norberg allodgcs that this is a contradic- tion, faying, that King Stauillaus was at once detained a prifontr and treated as a King at Lender. How ! had not this poor man c/ifcernment enough to perce\\e, xYva\. \^ \% ^ofl\hle for a man to k a prifontr, and yet loaded VvOx Vio\)kOMx% ^^ xXx^ ^^ssx^ vaarA KING OP SWEDEN. 205 SeSwedesat Adrianople were in prifon ; and Saltan's throne fecmcd to be inacceflible on all fides to the complaints of the King of Sweden. The Marquis de Ficrville, who had rcfided with Charles at Bender as a private agent of France j was at. that time at Adrianople. He dared to form the defign of rendering that Prince a fervice^ at a time when he was abandoned or opprefTed by every one. He was happily feconded in this defign by a French gentleman, of an ancient houfe in Champagne, called Villelongue, a man of intrepidity, who not having at that time a fortune equal to his courage, and beudes dazzled with the reputation of the King of Sweden, had come to Turkey with a view of entering into the fervice of that Prince. M. de Fierville, with the affiftance of this young man, wrote a memorial in the name of the King of Sweden, in which he made that Monarch demand fa- tisfaftion of the Sultan for the infult oiFered in his per- fon to all Crowned Heads> and for the treachery, real orfuppofed, of the Kam and the Pacha of Bender. ' In this ihemorial he accufed the Vizier and other Minifters of having been corrupted by the Ruffians, of impoiing upon the Grand Seignijor> of having inter- cepted the King's letters to his Highnefs, and' of ha- ving by their artifices extorted from the Sultan an or- der fo contrary to the hofpitality of MuiTulmen, by which the law of nations was violated, and in a man- ner fo unworthy of a great Emperor attacking with twenty thoufand men a King who had none but his own domeftics to defend him, and who relied upon the facred word of the Sultan. When this memorial was drawn up, it was neceflary to have it tranflated into the Turkifh language, and written in a particular hand, upon a paper made on purpofe, which it is neceffary to make ufe of for every thing which Is prefented to the Sultan. They applied to feveral, French Interpreters in the town ; but the affairs of the King of Sweden were fo deiperatei and. the Vizier declared fo openly againjft T 3 , Vxssx 2o6 HISTORY OF CHARLES XII. him, that not f'fingle Interpreter dared even to tran^ lale iL At lad they found a ftran^er, who/e hand was not known at the Porte, who, having received a hand- - fome recompence, and the aHTurance of profound fccrc- cy.» tranflated the memorial into the Turkidi language^ and wrote it upon the proper fort of paper. Baron d'Advirfon, a Swedilh Officer, counterfeited the King's fignature. Ficrville, who had the royal fignet, fct it to the writing ; and they fealed the whole with the arms of Sweden. Villelongue charged himfelf with the delivery of this packet into the hands of the Grand Seignior as he went to the Mofque, according to his ufual cudom. The like methods had been fiequendy employed to prefent memorials to the Sultan againft his Minifters ; but that very ckcum (lance rendered the fuccefs of this enterprize the more difficult, and the danger ftill greater. The Vizier, who forefaw that the Swedes would de- mand judice of the Sultan, and being indruded by the unhappy fate of his predeceflbrs, had given peremp- tory orders to allow no one to approach the Grand Seignior's perfon, but to feize every one who diould be about the Mofque with petitions in their hands. Villelongue knew of this oider, and was not igno- rant that he run the rifk of lofing his head. He laid afide his Frank's drefs, and put on a Grecian habit;, and, concealing the letter in his bofom, repaired be- times to the neighbourhood of the Mofque to which the Grand Seignior reforted. He counterfeited the madman, and dancing between two liles of JanifTaries through which the Sultan was to pafs, he purpofely let drop fome pieces of money from his pockets, as if by chance, in order to amufe the guards. When the Sultan approached, the guards endeavour- ed to remove Villelongue ; but he fell on his knees and druggled with the JanifTaries : at lad his cap fell off, and he was difcovered by his long hair to be a Frank: he received feveral blows, and was very roughly hand- led. The Grand Seignior, who was near, heard the fcufic, and demaod^d \ii^ cv^ ^ Sx» VUIelongiie KING OF SWEDEN. 207 cried out with all his force, «* Afnman! Amman ! Mer- •« cy !" pulling the letter out of his bofom. The Sul- tan ordered the guards to let him approach. Ville- longue inftantly ran to him, embraced his ftirrup, and prelented the memorial, faying, " Sued crall dan ; It is " the King of Sweden who gives you this." The Sul- tan put the letter in his bofom, and proceeded to the Mofque. In the mean while they fecured Villelongue, and imprifoned him in one of the exterior apartments of the Seraglio. The Sultan having read the letter, upon his leaving "the Mofque refolved to interrogate the prifoner him- fclf. What I relate here will perhaps appear fome- what incredible ; but yet nothing is here advanced but what is vouched by the letters of M. de Ville- longue ; and when fo brave an Officer afferts any thing^ upon his honour, he merits fome credit. He aflured me, then, that the Sultan laid afide his Imperial garb, and the particular Turban which he wears, and dif- guifed himfelf like an Officer of the Janiflaries, a thing which he frequently does. He brought along with him an old man of the Ifland of Malta, who ferved as an interpreter. By favour of this difguife Villelongue enjoyed an honour which no Chrillian Ambaifador had ever obtained ; he had a private conference with the Turkifti Emperor for a quarter of an hour. He did not fail to reprefent the wrongs which the King of ' Sweden had fuffered, to accufe the Minifters, and to demand fatisfaAion, with fo much the more freedom, as in talking to the Sultan he was only fuppofed to be talking to his equal. He could eafily difcover, not- withftanding the darknefs of the prifon, that it was no other than the Grand Seignior himfelf: but this only ferved to grye him the more fpirit in the converfation, The pretended Officer of the JaniiTaries faid to Ville- longue, " Chriftian, affure thyfelf that the Sultan my ** mafter has the foul of an Emperor ; and that if your " King of Sweden has reafon on his fide, he will do <* him jnftice." Villelongue was foon after fet at li/- berty \ and in a few weeks after a fudden chasK^^ ^-^ 2o8 HISTORY OF CHARLES Xlt. ficn in the Seraglio, which the Swedes attributed to this fmgular conference. The Mufti was depofed j ^he Katn of Tartary was banifhed to Rhodes ; and* the Se- raikier Pacha of Bender confined in one. of the Iflands of the Archipelago. The Ottoman Porte is fo fubjed to the like revolu- tions, that it is difficult to decide whether the Sultan really meant by thefe facrifices to appeafe the King of Sweden or not. Indeed, from-- the treatment which that Prince received, it does not appear that the Porte had any great inclination to oblige him. The favourite Ali-Coumourgi was fufpeded of being the fole caufe of all thefe changes, in order to ferve his own particular views. It was faxd that he caufed the Kam of Tartary and the Sera&ier of Bender to be ba^ niftied, under the pretence that they had given the King the twelve hundred purfes in contradiAion to the orders of the Grand Seignior. He likewife raifed to the throne of Tartary the brother of the depofed Kam, , a young man of his own age, who had little regard for his brother, and upon whom the. favourite depend- ed greatly in profecuting the wars he had meditated With regard to the Grand Vizier JuiTuf, he was not depofed till fome weeks after, whea Soliman Pacha ob- tained the title of Firft Vizier. It is incumbent on me to declare, that M. de Ville- longue and feveral Swedes aflured me, that the letter prei'ented to the Sultan in the King's name, was the caufe of all thefe great changes at the Porte ; but M. de Fierville, for his part, has affured me of the con- trary. But indeed I have found the like contradic- tions in many memorials that have been fubmitted to my pcrufal. In fuch cafes, it is the duty of an Hifto- rian to give matters of fad ingenuoufly, without en- deavouring to dive into motives ; and to confine him- felf to the, relation of what he does know, without gueffing at things which he is not acquainted with. In the mean lime they had conducted Charles XIL to the little caftle of Demirtalh, near Adrianople. An innumerable.uumW o^ '5!ut^'^ "w^x^. afliemblcd ,in thi* KING OF SWEDEN. 209 place to fee the arrival of that Prince,^hom they car- ried from his chariot to the caftle on a fopha ; but Charles, that he might not be feen by the crowd, put a cufliion upon his head. The Porte was fevei al days before it would grant him his requeft to refide at Demotica, a little town fix leagues from Adrianople, and near the famous river Hebrus, now called Maiiz^a. •* Go," faid Coumourgi to the Grand Vizier Soliman, ** and tell the King of " Sweden that he may ftay at Demotica all his life ; ** I will be anfwerable that before the expiration of •* one year he will demand of his own accord to be •* gone ; but let your chief care l?e not to furnifh him *' with money." Thus was the King conveyed to the little town of Demotica, where the Porte allowed him a «* thaim," conirfting of a confiderable Quantity of provifions for himfelf and his retinue : but tney would only grant him five-and-twenty crowns a day in money to buy pork and wine, two kinds of provifions which the Turks ne- ver furnifh to others. The purfe of five hundred crowns a day, which he had at Bender, was withdrawn. Scarcely had he arrived at Demotica with his little court, when the Grand Vizier Soliman was depofed, and his place filled by Ibrahim Molla, a man of a high fpirit, of great courage, but of the coarfeft manners. It is not ufelels to make known his hiftory, that the reader may be acquainted with the charaders of all thofe Viceroys of the Ottoman empire upon whom the fortune of Charles fo long depended. He had been a common failor till the accefHon.of the Sultan Achmet III. This Emperor frequently difgui- {^d himfelf cither in the habit of a private man, of a prieft, or a dervife ; and ufed to flip in the evening into the coffeehoufes of Conftantinople, and the pub- lic places, to hear what was faid of him, and to colledt the fentiments of the people. One day he heard this Molla complaining that the Turkifh ihips never toojc any prizes, and fwearing, that if he were a Captain of a flnpj he would acvcr enter the port of Conftantinople 210 HISTORY OF CHARLES XIL without bringing foxne veflel of the Infidels along with, him. The Grand Seignior the next day ordered the command of a (hip to be given to him, and that he fhould be fent upon a cruize. The new Captain return- ed in a few days after with a Maltefe bark, and a galley of Genoa i In about two years time he was appointed Captain-General of the navy, and at laft Grand Vizier. As foon as he arrived at this poft, he thought he conld difpenfe with the favourite ;. and to render himielf the more neceflary, he projedled a fcheme for commencing a war againfl the Ruflians : with this view, he jfitched a tent not far from the place wher« the. King of Sweden refided. He invited that Prince to come and fee him, wish the new Kam of Tartary and the French AmbaiTador. The King, who became, more proud as he became • more unfortunate, confidered it as a moft daring af- front for a fubjeA to fend him an invitation : he there- fore ordered his chancellor MuUern^to go. in his place; and he himfelf, who was. always in the- extremes, left the Turks (hould not pay him that refpe^ which was due to his royal perfon, or oblige him to compromUe his dignity, took to his bed, and refolved not to quit it as lohg as he (hould ftay at Demotica. He remain- ed ten months in his bed pretending to be ill. Chan- cellor Mullem,' Grothufen, and Colonel Dubens, were the only perfons who were admitted to his table. They had none of the conveniencies with which the Franks are generally provided ; all thefe they had lo(t at Ben- der ; confequently their meals were far from being fer- ved with pomp or with elegance. They waited on themfelves ; and during the whole time ^Chancellor Mullern performed the office of cook. During the time that Charles was thus pafling his. time in bed, he was apprized of the defolation of all his provinces that were fituated within the limits of Sweden. General Steinbock, rendered illuftrious by his dri- ving the Danes out of Scania, and. having conquered their choiceft troops with a handful of peafants, ilW KING OT SWEDEN. 211 namtained for fome time the reputation of the Swedifh irms. He defended as far as he was able Pomerania, Bremen, and what the King ftill pofFeiTed in Germany ; )Ut could not hinder the combined armies of the Danes md Saxons from befieging Stade, a town of great Hrength and importance, fituated on the banks of the Elbe in the Duchy of Bremen. The town was bom- barded and reduced to afties, and the garrlfon obliged to Xurrender at . difcretion, before Steinbock was able to advance to their adiftance. Tliis Ge'neral, who had about twelve thoufand men, of which one half were cavalry, purfued the enemy, who were twice as numerous ; and at laft overtook them in the Duchy of Mecklenburg, at a place called Gadebufli, near a river which bears the fame name. Heafrived oppofite to the Saxons and the Danes on the 2othibf December 1 7 1 2. He was feparated from them l>y a morafs. The enemy had this morafs in front, and a wood in their rear ; they had alfo the advantage of number and fituation ; and their camp could not be gained without* croffing the marfh under the fire of their artillery. Steinbock pdiTed at the head of his troops, arrived in order of battle, and began one of the moft obftinate and bloody engagements which ever happened between ihefe rival nations. After a (harp conflid for three hours, the Danes and Saxons were routed, and obli- ged to quit the field of battle. It was in this battle fhat a fon of Auguftus by the Countefs of Konigfmark, known-by the name of Count Saxe, ferved his apprenticefhip in the art of war. This is. the fame Count Saxe who had the honour-afterwards to be ele<5led Duke of Courland, and who wanted no- thing but power to put himfelf in poffeffion of the moft inconteftible right which any man can have to fove- leignty, I mean the unanimous vote of the people. This is alfo the man who has fince acquired a ^ more folid glory by faving France at the battle of Fontenoy, 'by conquering Flanders, and meriting the reputation. 4Qf the greateft General of our agt. lAfc coxanwccAfc^ 212 HISTORY OF CHARLES XIL a regiment at Gadebufli, and had a horfe killed undet him : I have heard him fay, that the Swedes always kept their tanks ; and that, even after the vidory was decided, and the firft lines of thefe brave troops having their enemies lying dead at their feet, there was not a fingle Swedifh foldier who dared even to ftooptoftiip them, before prayers were read in the field of batde; fo fteady were they in the ftrix» VUlelongae KING OF SWEDEN. 207 cried out with all his force, «* Afntnan! Amman ! Mer- •« cy !" pulling the letter out of his bofom. The Sul- tan ordered the guards to let him approach. Ville- longue inftantly ran to him, embraced his ftirrup, and prefented the memorial, faying, " Sued crall dan ; It is " the King of Sweden who gives you this." The Sul- tan put the letter in his bofom, and proceeded to the Mofque. In the mean while they fecured Vlllelongue, and imprifoned him in one of the exterior apartments of the Seraglio. The Sultan having read the letter, upon his leaving the Mofque refolved to interrogate the prifoner him- felf. What I relate here will perhaps appear fome- what incredible ; but yet nothing is here advanced but what is vouched by the letters of M. de Ville- longue ; and when fo brave an Officer afferts any thing^ upon his honour, he merits fome credit. He aflured me, then, that the Sultan laid afide his Imperial garb,, and the particular Turban which he wears, and dif- guifed himfelf like an Officer of the Janiflaries, a thing which he frequently does. He brought along with him an old man of the Ifland of Malta, who ferved as an interpieter. By favour of this difguife Villelongue enjoyed an honour which no Chrillian Ambaifador had ever obtained ; he had a private conference with the Turkifti Emperor for a quarter of an hour. He did not fail to reprefent the wrongs which the King of ' Sweden had fuffered, to accufe the Minifters, and to demand fatisfaAion, with fo rhuch the more freedom, as in talking to the Sultan he was only fuppofed to be talking to his equal. He could eafily difcover, not- with(landing the darknefs of the prifon, that it was no other than the Grand Seignior himfelf: but this only ferved to grye him the more fpirit in the converfation. The pretended Oflfker of the JaniiTaries faid to Ville- longue, «* Chriftian, affure thyfelf that the Sultan my ** mafter has the foul of an Emperor ; and that if your " King of Sweden has reafon on his fide, he will do <* him jnftice." Villelongue was foon after fet at W^ fccrty i and in a few weei^ after a fuddea chajv^t. ^-^ -3 1 6 HISTORY OF CHARLES XII. difhonour of having been furprifed to the divulging the fecret of his mafter. The Duke of Holftein and the Bilhop- Adminiftrator protefted that they had obferved the neutrality : they implored the mediation of the King of Pruffia and the Eledlor of Hanover, But all this finefle not being fup- ported by force, did not prevent the King of Denmark from belieging Wolf in Tonningen a fhort time after- wards, with his own troops and thofe of the Czar. This Commander furrendered as Steinbock had done, and at laft confcfled the fecret of which the Danes had .but too many fufpicions. This furniihed the King of Denmark with a pretext for taking poffeflion of the States of the Duke of Hol- ilein^ which have never yet been entirely, reftdred to hinri This fame King of Denmark, who- ravaged ^J'^vi4lout fcruple the Duchy of Holilein, had yet the ge- . iverofity to .treat Steinbock with con^lde^ation, and gave j,an-.^xaniple that Kings are often more guided by their . inte-^efts than their revenge. He left the incendiary of Aiten^. free upon his parole at Copenhagen, and affec-, ted to heap favours upon him, till Steinbock having attempted to efcape, had the misfortune to be flopped, and to be convi^led of having broke his parole* Then lie was ftridly guarded, and reduced to afk pardon of the king of Denmark, who granted it to him. -• . Pomerania being without defence, became a prey to the allies, exceptmg Stralfund, the Ule of Rugen, and fome neighbouring places, and was fequeftered in the hands of the King of Pruflia. The States of Bre- men were filled with Danifh garrifons. At the fame the Rudians overran Finland, and beat the Swedes, who beiiig inferior in point of numbers, and their re- . foliuion forfaking them, they began to lofe their fupe- . rioritj' of valour over enemies who. now were inured to war. To cornplete the npisfortunes of Sweden, the Kinc; was obftinately determined to remain at Demotica, and ftill flattered himfelf with the hope of having affii- tance KING Of SWEI>EN. 217 tance^i^igi the Turks, in whom he ought no longer to > have ^^'^jffi^cl any confidence. Ibrahi||^olla, that bold Vizier wha-hid t>^n fo obflinateltyKnt on a war with the Ruffians, in oppo- fition to tK|'|l^ourite, was (Irangled between two doors. The pla^W Vizier was become fo dangerous* that no one dai^wp accept of it ; tt continued vacant fix months. AMm the favourit«= Ali-Gouraourgi, aflii- med the ti tie tpf Grand Vizier. ' Th€to were -all the hopes 'of the King of Sweden- crufhed at once; He knew Coumourgi fo. much the better, ias Jie* had been ferved by him whfen the iirtereft of that favourite and . his own happened to coincide >- Charles had now been :eleven m^onths' at Demotica, ■• buried in floth 'and oblivion : this extreme indolence fucceedtng fofuddenly the mod violent exercifes, had at laft actually given him the^ difeafe which he had be- fore feigned. His death Was believed throughout Eu- - rope. "^The Council of Regency, which he had eftablifh- ed at Stockholm when he . left- his capital^ no longer received any difpatches from him.- The Senate came in a body- to the princefs Uliica- Ekonora, the Kfng's fitter, and intreated her to take the Regency into heir own hands, during the long abfenceof her brother. She accepted the prepofal ; b\it when flie perceived that the Senate wanted to obl^ her to make a peace with the Czar and die King or Denmark, who' attack- ed Sweden on every fide,, and well 'knowing^ tha^ her brother would never ratify fuch a peace, -fhe refighed the Regency,' and fcnt into Turkey, a long detail of . the tranfadion. ^ Chailes received his fiflef's packet at Beftiotica* The ^ arbitrary^ principles which he had imbibed at hisbirtb, . made him forget that Sweden had foftnerly been free, and that inaneient times the Senate govemedv the kii^gdom -conjointly with the^Kifig. - He regarded this body as a parcel- of -dotoeflics, who^^ wanted to ufurp - the command of the houfe in thchr-mafler^s abfence : : he wrote to them, that if diejr- pretended to afTulhe the reins, of government^ he would Ccad \i«,m ^"ca c?l\v\^ ^ 2i3 HISTORY OF CHARLES XH. .boots, from which he would oblige them to receive their orders. ^ To prevent therefore thefe pretended attempts upon his authority .in Sweden, and to defend his kingdom, now in the laft extremity, deprived of all hopes of af- fiftance from the Ottoman Porte, and relying on him- -felf alone, he fignitied to the Grand Vizier his defiie of departing and returning by the way of Germany. M. des Alleurs, the French Amba^ador, who was charged with the affairs of Sweden, made the propofal in his name. " Well,'* faid the Vizier to him, " did «* not I tell you, that a year would not pafs before the ** King of Sweden would defire to depart ? Tell hiro, "it is at his choice to go or (lay ; but let him come to " a fixed determination, and appoint the day of his de- " parture, that he may not a fecond time embarrals «* us as he did at Bender." Count des Alleurs foftened the harflinefs of this an- fwer to the King. The day was accordingly fixed; but before Charles would leave Turkey, he refolved to difplay the pomp of a great King, though involved in all the difiiculties of a fugitive. He gave Grothufen ■the title of his AmbalTador Extraordinary, and fcnt him to take leave in form at Conftantinople, followed by a retinue of eighty perfons, all fuperbly dreffed. The diveis ftratagems to which he was reduced in order to raife a fufficiency to defray this expence, were as humiliating as the embafly was pompous. M. des Alleurs lent the King forty tlioufand crowns. Grothufen had agents at Conrtaritinople, who borrow- ed in his name, at the rate of fifty per cent, intereft, a thoufand crowns of a Jew, two hundred piftoles of an Englilh Merchant, and a thoufand livres of a Turk. In this manner did they amafs a fum fuificicnt to ed by Count Croifly, Ambafiador to the King of Sweden. The Chriftian part of Europe was now in a fituatioft far different from that in which it was when Charks quitted it in 1709. The war which had fo long raged throughout the South, that is to fay, in Germany, England, Holland, France, Spain, Portugal, and Italy, was now termina- ted. This general peace had been brought about by . fome private intrigues in the Englifh Court. The Eaii , of Oxford, an able Mini Iter, and Lord BolingbrokeV ] one of the greateft geniufes and the moft eloquent ora- tor of the age, had prevailed over the famous Duke of Marlborough, and perfuaded tjie Queen to make a peace with Lewis XIV. France, having no longer England for her enemy, foon obliged the Powers to come to an acc'ommodatiori. Philip V. the grand) on of Lewis XIV. began to reign peaceably over the ruins of the- Spanilh Monarchy The Emperor of Germany, become mafter of Naples and Flanders, eftabli(hed himfelf in his vaft dominions; and Lewis himfelf afpired no higher than to finjdi in peace his long career. Anne Queen of England died on the loth of Auguft I 171+, hated by half the nation for having given peace | to fo many kingdoms. Her brother James Stuart, an | unhappy Prince, excluded from the throne almoft at • his birth,' not being at that time in England to claim the fucceflion, which new laws would have given him if his party could have prevailed, George I. Eledor | of Hanover was unanimoufly acknowledged Kmg o( | Great Britain. The throne devolved to that EleSor, i not by right of blood, though defcended from a daugh- ter of James, but by virtue of an A€t of Parliament of that nation. George, called m au ?L^H'a.tvc^^ ^^^ v^ ^^ <^ovem KING ap SWEDEN. 225 Yncnt of a people whole language he did not under- iland, and to whom he was an entire ftrangef, regard- ed himfelf rather as Eledor of Hanover than King of England. His whole ambition was to aggrandize his German dominions. He almod always went once a- year to vifit his hereditary fubjeds, by whom he was • adored. In other refpeds he took more pleafure in living like a private man than a Sovereign. The pomp of royalty was to liim an infupportable burden. He pafTed his time with a few old courtiers, with whom lie lived in great familiarity. He was not the King that made the greateil £gure in Europe ; but he was one of the wifeft Princes of the age, and perhaps the • only one that experienced on a throne the pleafures of friendfhip and a private life. Such were the principal Monarchs, and fuck the frtuation of the fouth of Europe. The "changes that happened in the North were of a- nother nature. Its Kings were engaeed in war, and onited themfelves againd the King of Sweden. Auguftus had been long reftored to the throne of Poland by the afliftance of the Czar, and with the cori- fent of the Emperor of Germany, of Artne of England, and of the States-Geneial, who, though all guarantees of the treaty of Altranftad when Charles XII. could have impofed laws, abandoned their engagement when they had nothing more to fear from him. But Auguftus did not enjoy a tranquil authority^ The Republie of Poland no fooner recalled their King^ than their apprehenfions of arbitrary power began to revive : the nation was in arms to oblige him to con* form to the pa^id conventa^ a facred contradl between the King and the people^ and feemed to have recalled its Sovereign for no other purpofe than to declare war again ft him. At the commencement of thefe troubles^ the name of Staniflaas was^ not once mentioned : his patty feemed to be annihilated ; no otlier remembrance of the King of Sweden remained in Poland than as of a torrent, which, in the violence of its courfe, had for a time occafioned a change in the face of nature. Pukowa and the abfence of Ch^al^YWXiri c^x^vc^^^ :2^6 fflSTORY 0^ CHAHLES XII. ,the fall of Staniflau^ had drawn on the rum alfo (JF the Duke of Holftcin, Charles's nephew, who had ncJt long before been dcfpoiled of his dominions by the King of Denmark. The King of Sweden had' had a finccre regard for the father, and was therefore deeply alFcc* ted and mortified with tlie misfortunes of the fon ; the rather as, having no other objeft than glory, the fall .of thofe Princes whom he had either made or reflored, was by him felt as fenfibly as the lofs of fo many pro- vinces. Every one was at liberty to enrich himfclf with the ruin of Charles's fortune. Frederic- William, the new King of Pruffia, who appeared to have as much incK- -nation for war as his father had had for peace, began by feizing on Stetin and part of Pomerania, as an equi- valent for four hundred dioufand crowns which he had .advanced to the King of Denmark and to the Czar. George, Elector of Hanover, now become King df England, had likewife fequcftcred into his hands the Duchy of Bremen and Verden, -which the King of Denmark had aiSgned to him as a depdfit for nxty thoufand pi doles. Thus did they difpofe of the fpoils , of Charles XII. and thofe who pofleffed any of his do- minions as pledges, became, from their interefts, as . dangerous enemies as thofe who had taken them. As to the Czar, he was doubtlefs the moft to be feared : his former defeats, his viftories, his very faults, his perfeverance to inftrudt himfelf, and then to com- municate that knowledge to his fubj efts, together ^idi his incelfaivrtabours, had made him a great man in c- very refp^ft. Riga was already taken ; Livonia, In- gria, C^elia, half of Finland, fo many provinces that had been conquered by Charles's anceftors, were now fubjefted to the Ruffian yoke. Peter Alexiowitz, who, twenty years before, had not a fmgle veifel in the Baltick, at tliis time beheld himfelf 'mafter of that fea, at the head of a fleet of .thirty Ihips of the line. One of thefe (hips had been built by his own hands; ..he being the beft carpexvur> t\i^\>^^aL^Ts»x^^ ^ad the , KING OF SWED'EN. lir fcfeft-^ pilot in the North. There was not a difficult paf- fage of the Gulph of Bothnia to the Ocean which he had not founded himfelf ; and having thus joined the-* labours of a common failor to the experience of a phi- lofopher and the plans of an Emperor, he arrived by degrees, and by dint of vidories, to the rank of Admi- ral, in the fame manner as he had become a General in the land fervice. , While Prmcc Gallitzin, a General formed under his own aufpices, and one of thofe who feconded his enter- prizes the beft, completed the coriqueft of Finland* took the town of Vafa, and beat the Swedes : the Em- peror put to fea, in order to take the ifland of Alan, irtuated in the Baltick, about twelve leagues from Stockholm. He fet out on this expedition in the beginning of July 1 7 14, at the time that his rival Charles XII. was' keeping his bed at Demotica. He embarked at Gron- flot port, which he had built fome years before, about fbur miles from Peterfburgh. The new port, the fleet which it contained, the officers, the fiilors, were alb the work of his own hands; and wherever he turned his eyes, he- could behold nothing but what he himfelf bad in fome meafure created. The Ruffian fleet, which confided of thirty fhips of' the line, eighty gallies, and' an hundred half gallies,^ found itfelf on the 15th of July on the coaft of Alan. There were twenty thoufand foldiers on board: Ad-* jniral Apiaxin was Commander in Chief; and the Ruf- fian Emperor ferved in the capacity of Rear- Admiral.. On the 1 6th the Swedifh fleet, commanded by Vice- Admiral Erinchtld, came up ; and, though weaker by two-thirds, maintained a fight for the fpace of threes hours. The Czar attacked Erinchild*s (hip, and took^ her after an ob(linate engagement. The day of the vitf^ory he landed fixteen tlroufand' men on the Ifleof Alan ; and having taken a number: of Swedilh foldiers that had not been able to get on> board Erinchild's fleet, he carried them off in his own ihips.. He returned into his harbour of Gronilot withf 2a« HISTORY op CHARLES XH*. Erinchild's large (hip, three others of lefs flze* obc^ frigate, and fix gallies, which he had made himfelf inafter of in this engagement. Having left Gronflot he arrived ?H Pcterfburgh, fol- lowed by the whole of his victorious ffeet, together with the Ihips taken from the enemy. He was laluted by a triple difcharge of an hundred and fifty pieces of cannon; after which he made a triumphal. entry, which flattered his vanity ftill more than that at Mofcow, be- caufe he received thefe honours in his favourite town, where but ten years before there was not a fingle hut^ and where at that time he beheld thirty-four thoufaiKi live hundred houfes; in Ihort, becaufe he faw himfelf not only at the head of a vi^rious navy, but of the Hrft Ruffian fleet that was ever feen in the Baltick fea> and in a country in which, before his time, the very name of a fleet was unknown. Almoft the fame ceremonies were obferved at Peterf-. burgh which had decorated the tn^umph at Mofcow, The Swedifh Vice-Admiral was the principal ornament of this new triumph. Peter Alexiowitz appeared as Rear-Admiral. A Ruffian boyard named Romano- dowfky, who ufually reprefented the Czar en thefe fo- lemn occafions, was feated on a. throne furrounded bf. twelve Senators. The Rear-Admiral prefcnted to him a relation of bis vi6bory,..and was declared Vice-Admi' ral, in confidcration of his ferviccs ; a whimflcal cere- mony, but at the fame time proper in a country where military fubordination was one of the novelties which, the Czar had introduced. T\iQ Emperor of Ruflla, at hift, vidorious over the Swedes by lea and land, and liaving affifted in driving them from Poland, began to exercife his authority there in his turn. He had made himfelf a mediator between Augurtus and the Republic ; a glory perhaps not inferior to that of creating a King. This honour, and indeed all the good fortune of Charles, had fallen to the Czar, who certainly made a better ufe of thefe advantages than his rival, as his fucceifes were fo ma- |3aged as to <;ouvi\bul of all his forces in Sweden. This Prince had ferved the States- General in their wars with the French, and was edeemed a good General ; a. qualification which contributed not a little to procure him the fifter of. Charles XII. in marriage. Misfortunes now followed one another as rapidly as vidories had formerly done. In the month of June 1715, the Gt-mian troops of the King of England, with thofe of Denmark, invefted the ftrong town of "j Wifmar : the Danes and Saxons united formed about | thirty-fix thoufand men, who marched towards Stral- J fund, to forrn the fiege of that place. The Kings of ■■ Denmark and Pruflia funk five Swedifli (hips near to j Stralfund. I'he Czar was then in the Baltic k, with | twenty large (liips of war, and an hundred and fifty j tranfports, on board of which were thirty thoufand ; men. He menaced a defcent upon Sweden ; fometimcs . advancing neat xo \iv^ <;.q?& oii \ijMcKv\xurgh, and at j KiNaoF swe&en; t-^t ethers appearing before Stockholm. All Sweden wa* in arms upon the coafts, every moment expedHng an invafion. In the mean time the Czar's land force.'; drove the Swedes from port to poll, until they had dii- pofTefled them of all the places they ftill held in Fin- land, toward the Gulph of Bothab ; but the Czar car- ried his conquefts no farther. At the mouth of the Oder, a river that divides Pc-- merania, and, after wafliing the walls of Stetin, falls, into the Baltick.fea, is the little Ifle of Uf^dom : this place is of great importance on account of its fituation, which commands the Oder, both on the right and left ; £o that the perfon who is mafter of this ifland, is at the fame time mailer of the navigation of the river. The King of Pruflia had di (lodged the Swedes from this- j)lace, and had taken poifeilion of it as well as of Ste-. tin, which he kept feque^red,. and all, as he faid, pour I'amour de la pa'tx^ i. c. ** for the love of peace.*' The Swedes had retaken Ufedom, in the month of May 1715. They had two forts there ; ot>e of which was the fort of Suine, upon the branch of the Oder that^ bore the fame name; the othei^ a place df more con., ftquence, was called Pennamender, fituated upon the ■other branch of the river. The King of Sweden had but two hundred and fifty Pomeranian foldiers to de- fend two forts and the whole ifland, commanded by 4m old Swediih OBker named Kuze.-Sl«rp,. whofe ■uame defervcs,to be preferved On the fourth xd Augiift the King of Pruflia fcnt. fifteen hundred foot and eight hundred dragoons to make a defcent upon the ifland, and they landed with- . out oppofition near the fort of Suine. The Swedifh Commander abandoned this fort to the enemy, as be- ing the leaft important ; and as he could not fafely di- vide his men, he retired with his little troop to the cadle of Pennamender, refolute to defend it taxhe lad ^tremity. There was, therefore, a nccefiity of befieging it in. form. A train of artillery, was embarked at Stetin fo£: this efibft, and the PxuSan troops wetcreinforced with. 13^ HISTORY OF CHARLES XII.: M- thoufand £dot and foov irandred horfe. Oh the i8t!i of Augnft the treDch^s were opened iatwo places, and* the fort was brifldy battered with cannon and roortarst During the fiege, a JSwedi^ foldier, who was charged ' W4th a priyate letter from ChatdesXIL found meant « to land on-tfae iilandy taget4iito theibrt of^Pennamen- - der» and to deliyer the letter to the- Cemmander; it . ' was- couched in the following words : ** Do not fire till . "the enemy come to the bnnk of th&fbfle ; defend the '<^place to^helaft diop of your blood; I commends ^ you to your good fortune. Cmaw.i,w».*\' Slap iiavmg read the note, relblved to obey^ an4 t to. lay down his Hie, as he wa» OKlened, for theiSrrnce of his mafter. On tke twenty^fec'ond, at the break <^ . day,, the enemy began the aflault r the befteged having , kept in their fire dU they faw the befi«g;ejr8 on the. brink . of the foiTe, killed a great, number of. them | but the : ditch was full,, the breach enlarged, and the.4U3kilants^ too numerous* They entered die cafile at two difib- rent places at.^ne time. The Commander thought of nothing but of felltog his lif(^jis dear as poflible, and obeying his mafterfs letter. He abandoned the breaches through which the.enemy entered^ intrenched his littl* company, who had all the courage and fidelity to foU low him, behind a b^ftion, and poftediliem infuch a " manner that they could not be furroonded.^ The eco> my came up to him, afionifiied tbat he did not afk fov quarter. He fought for a whole houc; and after ha» Ying loft ^he. half of ^is mei^ wag at laft^ killed, toge- ther with his Lieutenant and Major. After this, mt fuTvivtng fewi amounting to an hundreds foldiers and one Officer, begged their live^, and were made prifon- ers of war. They found Charles's letter in the Com» - mander's pocket, and carried it tb the. ELing of Pruflla. At the time that Chaf les loft Ufedom and the neigbt- bouring Iflts,. which were foon^after taken ; that Wiii^ YTjar was ready to furrender ; that he no lohgv pofiei^ fed a fleet, and Sweden was. threatened with an inva* Hon ; hehimfelf was in Stralfund^ andthat place was . ilnadj beiiegedbf iVtftti-^x^^fiwfo^A incBi^> KING OF SWEDEN. ^33 Stralfund, a town become famous thronghout Eu- rope for the fiege which the King of Sweden fuftained in it, is the ftrongeft place in Pomerania. It is (itua- ted between the Baltick fea and the Lake of Franken, upon the Straits of Gella ; having no entrance to it by land, except by a narrow caufeway, defended. by a ci- tadel, and by fortifications which were imagined inac- ceflible. It had a garrifon of about nine thoufand men,, and, what was beyond all, the King of Sweden him- felf. The Kings of Denmark and Pruffia undertook the fiege of this place with an army of fix and thirty thoufand men, compofed of Prudians, Danes and Saxons. The honour of befteging Charles XII. was-fo power- fnl a motive, that they foon farmounted every obfta- cle, and opened the trenches in the night between the 1 9th and 2pth of 0i\\Q\^\t.^^ -Kad re- j -KING or SWEDEN. i37 reived a fnufket-iliot below the nipple of his left bread: this wound, whicli he called a contufion, was two fingers deep. The King was on foot» and in danger of either being killed or taken prifoner. Count Poni- atow&7 was fighting at this time near his Majefty's perfon. He had faved his life at Pultowa, arid had now the good fortune to fave it once more in the battle of Rugen ; he fet him on horfeback. The Swedes retired to a part of the ifland called Altefcrra, where there was a fort, of which they were ftill matters- From thence the King repaiTed over to Stralfund, obliged to abandon his brave troops, who had fo well feconded him in this enter prize ; and two days after they were^ all made prifoners of war. Among the prifoners was that unhappy French regiment, compofed of the ihattered remains of the battle of Hochftet, which had entered into the fer- vice of Auguftvis, and afterwards into that of the King • of Sweden. The greated part of the foldicrs were -now incorporated into - a new regiment, commanded by the Prince of Anhalt's fon, who was their fourth inafter. The Commander of this wandering regiment in the Ifle of Rugen was the fame Count de' Villelongue who had fo generouflyexpofed his life at Adrianople in the * fcrvicc of Charles. He was taken . prifoner with his troop, and was aftehvards but poorly recompenfed for ' all his fervices, labours, and fufferings. - -The King, after all thcfe prodigies of valour, which ' ferved only to weaken his forces, fhut up in Stralfund, and near being fotced iii it, was the fame he had been at Bender. He was (haken by nothing ; he employed the day in making ditches and tntreachments behind the walls, and in the night he made fallies upon the ' enemy : in the mean ume Stralfnnd was battered m breach; the bombs fell as thick as hail upon the houfes, and half the town was reduced to aihes : the citizens, however, fo far from corhplaining, were filled with the highcft veneration for their Royal mafter, whole fatigues, temperance, and courage aftonifiied dv^^\ -238 HISTORY or CHAHLESXIL they were all become foldiers under him ; they ac- companied him in all his Tallies, and ferved him in the place of a fecond garrifon. One day, as the King was diflating fome letters to his Secretary, to be fent to Sweden, a bomb fell on the houfe, pierced the roof, and burd near the apart- ment in which he was. One half of the floor ^-as ihattered to pieces ; the clofet where the. King was jcmployed, being partly formed out of. a thick wail, did not fuffer by the explofion 5 and, by an aftonilh- ing piece of fortune, none of the fplinters -that flew about in the air entered at the clofet-door, which ' happened to be open. The report of tlie bomb, and the noife it occafioned in tlie houfe, which feemed ready to tumble, made the Secretary drop his pen. " What is the matter," fa id the King with a placid air, ** why do you not write ?" The Secretary could only fay, « Ah, Sire, the bomb!" " Well," replied the King, " what .has the bomb to do .with the letter " I am di«aatiog to you ?.Go on." There was, at .this time, an AmbaCfTador of France fhut up with the King of Sweden in Stralfund. It was Monfieur Colbert, Count de Croifly, a Lieuten- ant-General in the, French army, brothc»r to the Mar- quis de Tctcy, the celebrated Minifter of State, and a relation of the famous Colbert, whofe - name ought to be immortal in France. To fend a roan into the trenches or on an embafly to Charles XII. was pretty nigh the fame thing. The King would talk wiih CroiiFy for whole hours together in tlie mofl expofed places, while the foldiers were falling on every fide of tliem by the fire of the cannon and bombs, without appearing in the leail feniible of the riik he run, and tlie AmbafTador not chufing to give his Majefty (o mn^h as a hint that there were more proper places to talk of bufinefs. This Minifter did every thing he was able, before the fiege began, to efFe<5l an accommoda- tion between the King^ of Sweden and Pruffia ; but the demands of tlie latter were too high, and Charles ;. would make no conceSion^. C\i\u\t de CroifFy derived -Oft laNG OF SWEDEN. arj^i no other fatisfadion from his crabafly, than the plea- fure of enjoying the familiarity of that fmelar man. He often lay by his Majefty upon the fame cloak, and had by partaking of all his dangers and fatigues, ac- quired a right of talking to him with freedom* Charles encouraged this boldnefs in thofe he laved j and' would' fometimes fay to the Count de CroifTy, " Fe?jii male- ^^^dicamus de rege ;** i. e. " Come, now let us make free* *' with the chara(fler of the King." This^ account I had from the Ambaflador himfelh • CroifTy continued in the town till th6 1 3th of No- vember, when having obtained from the enemy per- xniflion to go away with his> baggage, betook his leave of the King, ;.whom he left amidft the ruins of Stral- fund, with. 4 garrifon diminiftied by one half, and re- folved to ftand an aflklflt. In ftiort, two days after, an a/Tault was aftually made upon the horn-work. The enemy twice took it, and twice were driven back. The King fought thci- tvhcle time amidd his grenadiers ; but at lad numbers prevailed, and thebefiegersremainedmafters of thepLice,: Charles continued in the town two days after this, ex- pedfcing every moment a general aiTault. On the 2 id he ftaid till midnight upon a little ravelin, that was entirely demolifhed by the bombs and cannon ; the next day the principal Officers conjured him not to Aay in a place which it was no longer poflible to de- fend ; but his^ retreat was now become as dangerous as the place itfelf. The Baltick fea was covered with' Ruffian and Daniih ihips, and there were no veiTels in- the harbour of Stralfund but one fmall bark with i^ils and oars. So many dangers, which would ren- der his retreat illudrious, determined Charles to at- tempt it. He embarked in the night, on the 20th of December 1715, accompanied by ten perfons only. They were obliged to break the ice with which the wa- ter of the port was covered ; a laborious tafk, which employed them feveral hours before the bark could faii freely. The enemy's Admirals had pofitive or- ders not to fuffer Charles to efcape from Stralfund^ Y 3 . \.^ J40 HISTORY OF CHARLES XII. but to take him dead or alirc. Happily they.vnere- under the wind» and were not able to get to him; but he run a dill greater ride in pafliDg.b.y a place called. La Barbette, in the Ifle of Rugen, where the Danes hade reded a battery of twelve cannon, from which. Aey fired upon him. The Mariners fpread every fail, and plied every oar, to get clear of the enemy ; but, notwithftanding, a cannon ball killed two men by the King's fide, and another (battered the mad of the bark. In the midft of thefe dangers the King efcaped unhurt, and at lad came up with two of his own (hips that were cruizing in the Balticfc, The next day Stral*. fund furrendered, and the garrifon were made prifon- ers of war. Charles landed at Ided in Scania, from which -place he repaired to Carellcroon, in a condition very diflPerent from what he wft^ in, when about fif- teen years before he fet fail from that harbour in a- Ihip of a hundred and twenty. guns, to g?ve laws to the North. Being fo near his capital. It was expe«5^ed that after fiich a long abfcnce he would vifit that place ;. but Lis- deiign was never to enter it again till he had obtained iome fignal vidtory. Befides, he could not bear the thoughts of again feeing a. people by whom he was beloved, and whom, neverthelefs, he was obliged to opprefs, in order to enable him to defend himfelf againd his enemies. He only wanted to fee his fifter, with whom he appointed an interview on the banks of the lake Weter, in Odrogothia, whither he rode poft, attended only by a fmgle domedic, and returned after having fpent a day with her. From Carelfcroon, where he fojourned during the winter, he iffued out orders for raifing men through- out his whole kingdom. He thought that his fubjefls were born only to follow him to the field of battle, and had accudomed them to think fo too. Young people were enlided at the age of fifteen ; and in fcvc- ral villages there were none left but old men, women, and children, and in many places women only were fcen ploughing ihe \3LV\d. KING OF SWEDEN, 24% Tt^as ftill more difficult, to procure a fleet. To • fu j)pl)r the want of this, commiffions were granted to- • the owners of privateers, who, upon obtaining- certain ■ privileges unueafonable in themfelves, and deftrudtive to the country, equipped a few ihips-: thefe efforts 'were the la ft lefourccs of Sweden, . To defray the cxpences of thefe preparations, he was obliged to take the fuhftance of the peojde. , Every kind of extortion • was invented, under the name of taxes- and duties^ Strift fearch was made in every hoofe, and one ha'f of the provifions found in them wae carried to the King's magazines : ^ all the iron in the kingdom wa:« bought wp for his ufe^- which Government paid for in paper, and fold out again- for readf money. . A tax Vras laid on every one who-wore any mixture' of filk in their clothes, or wore either perukes or gilt fwords. . - A very heavy tax was^ alfa laid on chimnies. The people, . oppreifed with-fuch a load of taxes, would have re- volted under any other King ; but the pooreft peafant • ill SVveden knew that his mafter led a life ftill more hatd and frugal than himfelf ; fo that every one fub- mitted without murniuring to thofe. hardfliips which. .. the King was the firft*to fuffer... i The Jjublye-^lafiger iervSedto make thcin forget their '• private misfortunes.. ^ They* expe^ed every moment to fee-their country invaded by'the-Rufljans, the Danes,. the Pruffians, the Saxons, and even by the Englifti ; and this fear was. fo tooted and fo ftrong> tjiat thofe who had money or valuable effe£^s,;buried them in the earth. In effed, ^n Enriiftr f&t had already ^Cppeared in the; Balticty thougn. its particular deftination- was not. kndwn ; an^ the Czar h^d given hisAvordto the King: of Denmark, that the- Ruffians ftould .join the Danes, in the fpring.of i7t6>in:order-toinafce a defcent upon. Sweden • But it was an extreme furpii^e todl Europe, which was attentive to the fortunes, of Charles the XII th,; when, inftead of defending his own country, which. Hraautiweatcned by fo many Princes, he paffed, in the y 3 TSNSSOS&k. ^ 242 HISTORY OF CHARLES XII. month of March 1716, over into Norway, with twenty thoufand men. No General had been known fmce Hannibal, who from inability to defend himfelf at home againft his enemies, had undertaken to carry the war into the heart of their own dominions. The Prince of HeiTe, his brother-in-law, accompanied him in this expedition. There is no travelling from Sweden to Norway bat through the moft dangerous defiles ; and when thefe are pafTed, one is continually meeting with fo many lakes of water formed by tlie fea amongft the rocks, tliat there is a necefiity for making bridges every daj» A fmall number of Danes might have ftopped the pro- grefs of the whole Swedifh army ; but this fudden in- vadon they had not forefeen. Europe was dill more aftonifhed that the Czar xemained quiet in the midft of all thefe mighty events, and that he did not make a defcent upon Sweden, as had formerly been ftipo- lated between him and his allies. This inactivity was owing to one of the greateft, and at the fame time rood difficult fchenies that ever wai formed by human imagination. * The B;iron Henry de Gortz, a native of Franconia, and a Baron in capitt of the Empire, having rendered feveral important offices to the King of Sweden during that Monarch's day at Bender^ was now become his favourite and fird Minidcr. Never was there a man fo bold, and at the fame time fo artful ; fo full of expedients amidd misfortunes; fo unbounded in his defigns, or fo a^ve in the profe- cution of them : he was frightened by no projed, he fctupled no means; he lavi£ed gifts, promifes, oaths, truth, and falfehood. From Sweden he went to France, England, and Holland, to try thofe fecret fprings which he after- wards meant to put in motion. He was capable of dif- turbing all Europe ; and indeed had fuch a plan in his mind. What his mader was at the head of an army, he was in tlie cabinet \ and in confequencc he had KING OP SWEDEN. 2^3 had acquired an afcendancy over Charles, which no Mini ft cr had poiTefred before him. That King, who when only twenty years of age had prefcribed orders to Count Piper, now received in- ilrudions from Baron de Gortz ; fo much the more fubmiffive to the dircdion of that Miniftcr, as his mif- fortunes obliged him to liften to the advice of others, and as Gortz never gave him any but fuch as was con- formable to his courage. He remarked, that of all the Princes united againft Sweden, George, Eledor of Hanover and King of England was the one againft whom Charles was moft highly incenfed, becaufe he was the only one that he had never offended ; and be- caufe George had entered into the quarrel under the pretext of accommodating it, but in reality to keep Bremen and Verden, to which he feemed to have no other right than that of having bought them for a trifle from the King of Denmark, to whom, after iill, they did not belong. He alfo Ibfpedted that the Czar wa^ fecretly diflaiif- fied with his allies, who had all confpired to hinder him from acquiring an eftablifhmcnt in Germany, where that Monarch, already become too formidable, wanted only to pbtain a footing. Wifmar, the only town which ftill remained to the Swedes on the fron- tiers of Germany, on the 14th of February, 1716, fur- lendered to the Danes and Pruffians, who would not even fuffer the Ruftian troops that were then in Meck- lenburgh to be prefent at the fiege. Similar jealoufies, reiterated for two years together, had alienated the Czar's mind from the common caufe, and perhaps pre- vented the ruin of Sweden. There are many inftanccs of feveral States in alliance being conquered by a fmgJe power, but fcarcely any of a great Empire being to- tally fubdued by feveral allies ; for if their united forces happen, for a time, to humble it, their divifions foon give it an opportunity to retrieve its former grandeur. The Czar had had it in his power from the year 1714^ to make a dcfcent upon Sweden ; but whether it was that he could not pcrfedlly agree with the Kings 24+ HISTORY OF CHARLES Xn: of Poland, England, Denmark^ and Pniflla, allies juftly* jealous ofhis growing power, or that he jJ id not think, his trnof^s as yet ftifficiently intired to war to attack in their own territories a people whofe very peafants had: crnquercd the flower of th« Danifh forces, he ftill put cffthe execatir.n of thts-enlerpiize. But what had chiefly flopped the progrels of his de-" r»;^ns was the want of nioney. The Czar was one of the moft powerful Monarchs In the univerfc, but was- fur from being one of the richeft, his revenues, at that lime, not e>ceedIngtweiity-foiir millions of livrcs: he liad indeed dilcovered fome mines- of gold, filver, cop-* per, and iron; but the profits aTiftng trom thefe were- fllll uncertain, and the working of them was very ex-' penfi-ve. He had likewife cftablifhed an extenfive com-, merce ; its beginnings, howeverj brought him in no- thing but hopes. The provinces which he had lately • conquered, increafed his revenues -without augmenting* his power and glory. It required a long time to heal- the wounds of^ Livonia ; a country extremely fertile, but defolated by fire, fword, and ^iiftemper, and by a war of fifteen years continuance deftitute of inhabitants, * and as yet chargeable to the conqueror. The large fleets he maintained, and the -new enterprizes which he was daily undertaking, contributed -alfo to exhauft his finances. He had even been reduced to the roife-- rable refource of raifing the value of money ; -a remedy: • that can never cure the evils of a State, and is parti- » cularly prejudicial to a country which . receives more^ commodities, from fti angers than it can fupply them with* This was a part of the foundation upon which Gortz hsd built his fcheme of a revolution. He ventured to • propofe to tha i^ing .<^f Sweden to purchafe peace from the Ruilian Emperor at any price whatibever ; repre- fenting to hinv, that die Czar was irritated againil the Kings of Poland and England ; and giving him to un- : derdand, that were the forces of Peter Alexiowitz and Charles XI I. united, they would. flrike terror through- x4^t Europe. . RING OF SWEDEN- 245 There was no other waj to accompliih this peace with the Czar« than that of yielding up a great part of the provinces which lay to the Eaft and North of the Baltick fea ; but then he would reprefent to the King, that in giving up thefe provinces, which the Czar had already poiTefled himfelf of, and which it was not in his power to retake, he might have the flory of at once replacing Staniflaus on the throne of bland, replacing the fon of James II. on that of England, and of re-edablifhing the Duke of Holftein in his dominions. Charles, elated with thefe ^reat ideas, took no time to confider of this fcheme, but immediately gave his Miniiter a carte blanche. Gortz fet out from Sweden, provided with a power which authorized him to do e- very thing without reftriut having been purfued in. every part without the lealV quarter, they had lately retired to the coafts of Mada- gafciir, a large ifland in the caft of Africa. Thefe men were all of them defperadoes, and moft of them famous for a<5liqns which wanted nothing, but juftice to render them truly heioic.. They had for fome time fnught a Prince who would receive, them under his protedion ; but the laws of nations fliut all the har- huuis in the .wqiW.ag^\x^^ v\v^iQ^. . . KING or SWEDfiR 247 As fdon as they were informed that Chartes'was re- •. turned to Sweden, they began to hope that that Prince, . padionately fond of war, foiced ^ carry it on, and in want of both fhips and men, would grant them favour- able terms : they accordingly fent a deputy to Europe, on board of a Dutch veiTel, to make a propofal to Ba- ron de GortE to receive them into the port of Gotten- - burgh, whither they offered to repair immediately with iixty (Kips load en with riches. The Baron prevailed upon the King to agree to this . propofition ; and the year following two Swedilh gen- tlemen, one named Cromftrom, and tJie other Mendal, were fent to finilh the negociation with the Corfairs of Madagafcar. But a more honourable and a moie , powerful fupport was foon after found in the Cardinal Alberoni, a man of an extraordinary genius, who go- verned Spain long enough for his own glory, but too •- fhort a time for the grandeur of that kingdom. He entered wit-h ardour into the projedl of placing • the fon of James II. on the throne of England. Ne- ' verthelefs, as he was juft entered into the Minifhy, and had ^e affairs of Spain to eilablilh before Jie could thxnt of throwing other kingdoms into confuiion, it was not likely that he would be able for many years • to fet his hand to this great work ; yet, noiwithftand- - ing, in lefs than two years he changed the face of af- 4 fairs in Spain ; recovered to that kingdom its credit in Europe ; engaged, as is generally imagined, the Turks to attack the Empercr of Germany ; and attempted, . at the fame time, to take away the Regency of France • from the Duke of Orleans, and the crown of Great Britain from King George. So dangerous is even one man when he is abfolute in a. powerful State, and pof- , feffed of courage and greatnefs of foul. Gortx having thus difperfed through -the Courts of Mufcovy and Spain the firft fparks of that flame which , he meant to kindle, went fecretly to France, and from '. thence to Holland, where he negociated with many of 1 the Pretender's adherents. He 148 HISTORY OF CHARLES XII. He infoimed hirofelf more parttcnlarly of the force, number, and difpofition of the malecontents in Eng- land, and alfo of the money ^ey could furnilb, and the troops they could raife. The malecontents a(ked only the aififtance of ten thoufand men, and reprefent- ed the revolution as infallible with the aififtance of thefe troops. Count De Gillemboui^, the Swedifh AmbafTador in England, being inftru^ed by Baron Gortz, had feveral conferences at London with the principal male- contents: he encouraged them, and promifed them every thing they could wifti for : the Pretender's party went fo far as* to furnilh feveral considerable fums of money, which Gortz -received in Holland. He iRego- ciated alfo about the purchafe of fome (hips, and bought lix in Brittany, witli all kinds of arms. He then fcnt feveral Officers privately into France, and among others the Chevalier de Folard, who having made thirty campaigns in the French armies without any confiderable addition to his fortune, had lately offered his fervices to the King of Sweden, notfomucb from any interefted views, as from a defire to ferve under a King who had fo aftomfhing a reputation. The Chevalier de Folard hoped alfo to prevail on that Prince to adopt his new ideas on the art of war, he having (ludied that art all his life as a philofo[^er; and he has (ince given to the world his difcoveries in his Commentary on Polybius. His ideas were approved of by Charles, who had made war himfelf in a man- ner entirely new, and was never guided "by cuftom in any thing : he deftmed the Chevalier de Folard for one of the inftrumcnts he was to ma4^e ufe of in hH projeDeyenter in Guelderland, and the o^er at London. Gillembourg, the Swedish AmbalTador, had violat- ed the law of nations, by. confpiring againft the Prince to whom he was delegated, and no fcruple was en- tertained of violating, die .fame. Jaw by arreting his perfon. But aH the, world was afto^ifhed to fee the States- General, throi^h an li^^^dof complalfance towards the King ol Enghuid, ..-impriipn .3aron de Gortz. They even app^ipted th^ Count de Weldcrcn to examine him. This forn^ality was ^nly an aggra- -, vation of their infult, which r.end^^d tii^lefs, turned ' out to their own conftU^on. Qortz .aiked. the Count j de Welderen if he knew him ? " Yes, 5ir,** replied the Dutchman. " Well, then," replied de Gortz, " if ! •< you do know me, you know alfo^ that I anfwer to •• nothing but what I pleafe.'* The examination was j (carcely puihed any farther AH the Ambafladors, but particularly the Marquis de Monteleon, the Spa* ' lufli Ambaflador, protefted againft the outrage oflFercd to the perfons of Gortz and Gillembourg. 'Hie Dutch •were without excufe. They had not only violated a moft facred law by feizing the Prime Minifter of the King of Sweden* who had formed no plots againil ; lh6W, but they a^td du^eiVj 2l!|3:\tv^ xjfcv^ principles of . KING OF SWEDENr a^r tkit liberty v^bich bad drawn fo many-^ foreigners into tbeir country^ and whicb had been* th^ foundation of all their greatnefs. With regard to the King of £ngbnd» he had com* mitted no breach of juftice in imprtfoning his^ enemy* He publtfhed in his own vindication the letters of Bar- on -de Gortz and Count Gillembourg, which -were found among„the papers of the- latter. The- King, of Sweden was in Scania at the time when* he- received thefe printed letters, together with the news of his two Mini ft ers being, imprifoned. He a(ked with a fmile, •* if they had printed his letters alfo ?'* He immediate- ly gave orders for arrefttng • the Engliih Reddent at Stockholm, with* all his family and domeftics. He* forbade the Dutch Refident the Court, and took care to have him ftridly watched. Meanwhile he neither a- vowed nor difa vowed the proceedings of de Gorlz ; be- ing too proud to deny a fcheme which he had once ap- proved, and too wife to acknowledge a plot which hadf been ftifled almoft in its birth ; he therefore maintained a difdainful filence towards England and HoUafid. The Caar took a different courfe. As he was not named, but only obfcurely hinted at in the papers of Gorfz and GiUembourg^ he wrote a long letter to the King of England, full of compliments on the difcovery of the confpiracy, and aiTurance of a fmcere friendlhip : King George received his proteftations without be- lieving them, and pretended to be deceived by them^ A confpiracy formed by private men, is annihilated the moment It is difcovered ; but a confpiracy fornved by 'Kings, only gains ftrengtb by its being known- The Czar arrived at Paris in the month of May in the fame year. He did not totally employ himfelf in viewing the beauties of art and nature, in vifiting the* academies, the public libraries, the cabinets of the curious, and the royal palaces ; he propofed a treaty to the Duke of Ot leans. Regent of France, the ac- ceptation of which would have completed the grandeur of Mufcovy. His defign was to unite himfelf with the King pf Sweden, who would yield to him fcveral 254 HISTORY or CHARLES XIL been treated with much more feverity than Giriem- bourg had been at London. Gortz having obtained his freedom, behaved like an implacable enemy, liaving the fptrit of revenge joined to the powerful motives by which he had been formerly actuated. He went poft to the Czar, and by his artful infmnations obtained a jmater afcendancy over that Prince than ever. He anured him diredly that in le/s than three months he would, in conjnndion with a fingle Plenipotentiary from Rnffia, remove every obftacle that retarded the conclufion of a peace with Sweden ; and uking a map in his band which had been diawn by the Czar himfelf, he drew a line from Wiboarg all the way to the Frozen Sca» running ulong the I^ke Ladoga> and undertook to perfuade his mafter to give np all the country lying to the eaft- ward of that line, as well as Carelia, Ingria, and Li- vonia : after that he threw out propoiitions for a mar- riage between his Czarifh. Majefty's daughter and the Duke of Holftcin,. flattering the Czar that the Duke might be prevailed upon to yield up his dominions for an equivalent, by which means he would become a member of the Empire, ibewing him afar off the Im- perial Crown, whether it were to be worn by himfelf or by one of his defcendants. He thus flattered the ambitious views of the Ruffian Monarch, and prevent* cd the Pretender from marrying the Czatian Princefs, while he opened to him the. road into England, and accompli filed all his own projen ; and Baron de Gk)rtz, full of hope, returned to Sweden. He found his mafter at the head of thirty-five thou- fand regular troops, and all the coafts lined with the militia. The Kin^ wanted nothing but money ; cre- dit, as well at home as abroad, being entirely cxhaufti. ed France, which had fumifhed him with fome fup- plies during the laft years of Louis XIV. rcfufcd to contribute any more under the Regency of the Duke of Orleans, who was governed by quite contrary max- ims. Spam promifed him fome remittances ; but was not as yet able to futnifh much. De Gortz at this time put into execution in its full extent, a fcheme which he formerly tried before his journey to France and Holland i this Was, to give to copper the value of Jilver ; fo that a piece of copper whofe intrinfic value was only a halft)enny, fhould, when ftamped with the King's mark, pafs for forty pence ; in the fame man* ner as the Governors of befleged towns frequently pay the foldiers aiid citizens in leather money, in hopes of being one day able to reimburfe them in real coin. This fiditioDS'fchid of money, invented by neceflity, and to which nothing can give a durable credit but the good faith of a Government, refembles bills of exv chaiigc,- the imaginary value of which may eafily ex* ceed the real funds of a State. Thefe refottrces are of gfeat ufe in a free country : they hdve fometimes faved a Republic, bat ahnoft cer- tainly rmn a Mdharchy \ for the people foon tiring of confidencet thte Mimfter i^ tedutfed to break his faith ; this ideal eok^fS'kniihiplied to excefs, and individuals bury the fpfeete they poffefs i atni the whole machine is - de(lt-oyed ^ith^a coi^fion which is of^en accompanied by the greatell difafters. This was what happened to the Kingdom of Swedea% 2s6 HISTORY OF CHARLES Xfl. Baron de Gortz at firft iflued out his new coin with difcretion : but, by the rapidity of the movement whick he could no longer govern, he was in a little time hur- ried beyond the limits which he had originally pre* fcribed. All kinds of merchandize and provifions ha- ving rifen to an immoderate price, he was obliged to increafe the quantity of the copper coin. But the more it was increafed, the lefs was its valuer at laft, Swe- den, over-run by this falfe money, iet up a general cry againft de Gortz. The people, who had always be- held their Sovereign with veneration, could not- find in their hearts to hate him^ and therefore made the weight of their refentment fall on a Minifter, who, as he was a foreigner and chief diredor of the finances^ was doubly certain of. the public hatreds A tax which he wanted to lay on the Clergy, ren-> dered him totally deteftablo to the nation : the PrieftSf who too often join their own caufe to that ef Heaven^ publicly pronounced, him an atheifl, becaufe he de- manded their moneys Some of the new cmn being (lai^ped with the figures of the Heathen Gods, they took this occaflon to call thofe pieces U Dieux du Baron de GortZf the Gods of Baron de Gortz. To this public hatred were joined the jealouiies of the Minifters ; the more implacable, as they were at that time without power to afFe^ him.. The King's fifter and the Prince her hufband feared him as a man attached by his birth to the Duke of Holftein, and who might one day be able to place the crown of. Swe- den on his head. He had gained no one's afiFedions in the kingdom but Charles's ; yet this general aver- fion ferved only to confirm the friendfhip of the King, whofe opinions were always ftrengthened by contradict tions. He now placed a confidence in the Baron bor- dering on fubmiHion-; he gave him an abfolute power in the interior government of the kingdom ; and com- mitted to his care, without the leaft referve, whatever related to the negociations with the Czar, recommend- ing to him above all things, to haften the conferences thdt were to be held iix xh^ lik, of Alan. In KING OB SWEDEK J57. Tn eSc&f Gortx had no (boner finifhed the arrange- aaent of the finances at Stockholm which deroanded his prefence, than he fet out to conclude with the Czar'ls Minifter the grand fcheme he had projected. The following are the preliminary conditions of that alliance* which was wholly to ha^e changed the face of affairs in Europe; they were found among de GoTtz*6 paperis after his death. The Czar was to keep the whole of LiTonia, and part of Ingria and Carelia, and to reftore the reft td Sweden : he was to join Charles XII. in the defign to re-eftablidi Stanifkus on the throne of Poland, and was to engage to enter that country with eighty thoufand Ruffians to dethrone Auguftus, the very King in whofe defence he had waged a war of ten years continuance. He was alfo to fumifh the King of Sweden with a fuf- ficient number of (hips to tranfport ten thoufand Swedes to England, and thirty thoufand to Germany. The* united forces of Peter and Charles were to attack the King of England in his States of Hanover, and particularly in Bremen and Verdcn : the fame troops would have ferved to reftore tlie Duke of Holftein* and compelled the King of Pruffia to accept a treaty, by which he would have been deprived of part of thofe territories which he had formerly taken. From this time Charles aflumed as lofty airfi as if his victorious troops, reinforr I bv thoic of the Czar^ bad already executed ever riin.;^ ih:f iotended. He haughtily demanded of t.,^ Km[)eror of Germany to conclude the treaty of A 1 tranltad The Court of Vienna fcarcely deigned to give an anfvr?r to the propofal of a Prince fron^ whom fiie tiwAight fnc had nothing to fean The King of Poland did not pbflfefs fo much confi- dence : be faw the ck)uds gathering on every fide. The Poli(h Nolwlity had formed a confederacy againd him ; and fmce his reH oration he had continually been engaged either in wars or treaties with his fubjeds. The Czar, a dangerous mediator, had an hundred gallies near Dantzick, and forty thoufand men on the frontiers of Poland, All the NoixV -wac^ ^^^ ^\<^a^ »58. HISTORY, op CHARI^ESj XII. * jealoufy and apprehenfion. Fleikring» the nibft HT* tniftful of men, and himfelf the moS to be diftrufted by the neighbouring Powers, was the firft who fufpec- ted the dengns of the Czar and the King of Sweden in favour of Staniflaus. He determined therefore to hare him feized in the Duchy of Deux-Ponts, as James So- bieiky had formerly been in Silefia. A Frenchmant one of thof^ reftlefs and ^enterpnzing. fpirits who wan* der into foreign parts to try- their fortunes, had lately brought a fmall number of his-GOuntrymen, bold and daring, like hinoTelf, into the fervice of the King of Po- land. He -communicated a projeft to Fleming, by which he engaged, with thirty French OflBwiers, to fcize Staniflaus in his own palace, and' carry hinma prifoner to Drefden. The projed was approved. Such- enter- prizes were then very common. Some of thofe fellows who are called bravoes in Italy, had performed fimilas a<^s in the Milanefe during the laft war betweeiv France and Germany. After that ti^le feveral French refugees in Hollatid- had ventured to r.penetrate as far as Vcr- faillesi in order to carry off the D^Uphin ; and had adta« ally feized the perfon of the firft Equerry, almoft under the windows of the caftle where Louis XIV. refided. . Saiffan prepared his- men and relays of poft-horfcs in order to feize and carry off Staniflaus. The enterprize was difcovered the night before it was to have been carried into execution. Several of them made their efqape, and the reft were taken prifoners. They had no right to exped to be treated as prifoners of war, but rather as banditti. Staniflaus, however, inftead oif punifhing them, contented himfelf with reproaching them with their bafenefs, and even that he did in terms replete with humanity ; he even gave them money to cor)dn<5l them back to Poland, and by this generous behaviour plainly fliewed that his rival Auguftus had but too much reafon to fear him.* In ♦ Here M. Norberg accufes the author of want of rcfpeA to •rowned heads; as if this fliithful account contained in it any thin^ injurious, or as \i "wit -wctc o\\\^t^ Xand {how,, in the depth of winter, /which kills the animals even in Sweden, where the air ■.^■- is lefs cold, than to retake his beautiful Provinces in -Germany from the hands of his enemies. Thefe he xxpe(5led he Ihould foon be able to recover i: in confe- . ^luence of his alliance >«9vith the. Czar y and his vanity, I befides, was more iiattered at ravifhing a kingdom i; ;from bis viftorious enemy. At the mouth of the river JFiilendall, near the Chan- , .nel of Denmark, and between the towns of Bahus and .Anflo, ftands'Frederickfhall,^ j)lace of great ftrength and importance,. and oonfidered as. the keyof the king- ;dom. Charles formed thet fiegex)f this place in the ; .month of December. The foldiers, benumbed with , rcold, cottldr fcar^ely turn up the «artli, which was fo , ^much hardened by the froft, that it was almofl as dif. ; .ficolt to pierce it. as iftliey had been opening trenches . in a rock ; yet the Swedes could not fe important when •they relate to the death of fuch a man as Charles XII. I muft therefore fay, that the whole of the convierfar tion reported by fo many writers to have paifed be- tween the King and.Megret tlie Engineer is abfolutely falfe. "lliis is what 1 know to be the real truth of the ■matter. Almoft half of the King's body was eKpofed to a battery of cannon, pointed dire^ly againd the angle .where he was : tliere was no one near his pcHon at this *ime but two Frenchmen ; one ©f wliom was M. Si- guier, his Aid-^de-camp, a man of courage -and con- daa, * Norberg pretends tliat it was to cure a pain in his breafk thtt Charles tried thi» (Irao^ 9^\]kcw:«* Q^i&KSmib \Utb«r^ 4s tee)f ybadphyilciani KING OF SWEDEN. 2«i -^uft, who had entered into hrs fervlce in Turkey, and w^ho was particularly attached to the Prince of Hefle ; and the other was this Engineer. The cannon fired tipon them, but the King, being the leaft covered by the parapet, was the raoft expofed. At fome diftance i>ehind them was Count Swerin, who commanded in the trenches. Count PolTe, a Captain of the Guards, and an Aidde camp named Kulbert, were receiving orders from him. Siquier and Megret faw the King the moment he fell, which he did upon the parapet, with a deep figh. They immediately ran to him : he was already dead. A ball of half a pound weight had Aruck him on the right temple, and made a hole fuf- (icient to receive three fingers at once : his head was -reclined on the parapet, his left eye beat in, and the right one entirely out of its focket. The inftant of his wound had been that of his death ; but he had had the force while expiring in fo fudden a manner, to place, by a natural movement, his hand upon the hilt of his fword, and he remained in that attitude. At the fight of this fpedacle, Megret, a man of a peculiar and callous difpofition, faid nothing but thefe words, ** There ! tlie play is over, let us be gone;" Siquier ran immediately to inform Count Swerin. They all . agreed to conceal the news of his death from the fol- diers till they could acquaint the l^rince of HefTe with it. They wrapt up the body in a grey cloak. Siquier put his hat and wig on the King's head ; and in this <:ondltion they carried Charles, under the. name of one Captain Carlfbcrg, through the midft of his ^ troops^ who faw their dead King pafs them, without ever -dreaming that it was him. The Prince ihftaritly gave orders that no one fhould rgo out of the camp, and that all the pafTes to Sweden Hiould be ftridly guarded, that he might have time to take the neceffary mcafures for placing the crown on his wife's head, and excluding the Duke of Holdein, who might lay claim to it. ThusJFell Charles XIL King of Sweda\M^ v^^"& Coll of fweet- 1 ncfs, and a handComc tio^^ \ W\. x^^Vssr^x ^-wx^^S. V^ I KING OF SWEDEN. 26^ face was difagreeable, and too often disfigured by a frequent laugh, at which time he fcarcc opened his Ups ; and he had fcarce any beard or hair. He fpoke very little, and frequently only anfwered people witlv that laugh which was habitual to him. With the in- flexible obftinacy of^ his temper, he always retained that timidity which goes by the name of falfe modefty. He would have been embarrafled in a converfation, becaufe, having given up his time entirely to war and adion, he had no knowledge of fociety. Till the time of his refidence among the Turks, which furniihed him with a good deal of leifure, he had read nothing but Caefar's Commentaries and the Hiftory of Alexander ; yet he had written fome refle<5tions on the art of war, and particularly on his own <:ampaigps from 17CO M 1 709. This he owned to tlie Chevalier de Folard, bu6 fliid that the manufcript had been loft in the unfortu- nate battle of Pultowa. Some people would defcribe Charles as a good mathematician : he pofTefled, no doubt, a great degree of penetration, but the argur ments they make ufe of to prove his knowledge in ma- - thematics, are by no means conclufive : he wanted to alter the method of counting by tens, and propofed to fubftitute in its place the number 64, becaufe that num- ber contains both a cube and a fquare, and being divid- ed by two is reducible to a unit. This duly proves that he delighted in eveiy thing, extraordinary and difficult* With regard to his religion^ though the fentimenta «f a Prince ought to have no induence on other hien, and though the opinion of a Monarch fo illiterate as Charles, can be of Iktle confequence in thefe matters, yet it is neceflary to gratify in this as well as in every other particular, the curiodty of mankind; who are anxious to know whatever relates to this Prince. I am informed by the eentleman who furnifhed me with the greateft part of the materials which compofe jlhis Hif- tory, that Charles was a ferious Lutheran till the year 1 707. He then happened to fee at Leipfick the fa- mous philofopher, Mr Leibnitz, who thought and fpoke freely, aod had already inftilled his (k^\icccw%^% \ss^ 264 HISTORY op CHARLES XII; more Princes than one. I cannot believe, as it is re* ported, that Charles conceived an indt£Ference for Lu- theranifm fiom the converfation of this philofophcr, who never had the honour to talk with him above a quarter of an hour ; but M. Fabricius, who lived with him in great familiarity for feven years fucceffively, told me, Charles having feen, during his reildence a- mong the Turks, fuch an infinite variety of religions, his indiflFerence became greater. La. Mottraye, in his \Joyages, confirms this idea. The fame too is the o- pinion of the Count de CroiiTy, who hath feveral times told me, that of all his old principles, Charles retain- ed none but that of abfolute predeftination : a dodrinc that favoured his courage and juflified his temerity. The Czar held the fame opinion with regard' to fate and religion ; but talked of thefe fubje^s more fre- quently, as indeed he did of eveiy thing elfe with his favourites, with much familiarity ; for he had the ad- vantage over Charles, both in the ftudy of philolophy and the gift of eloquence. Here I cannot help taking notice of a calnmny that is too often railed at the death of Princes by the mali- cious, and too readily believed by the credulous, that their death is always owing to poifon or affaflination. A report had fpread through Germany, that M. Siquier himfelf had killed the King of Sweden. That brave OflScer was long gtieved at this injurious afperfion; and one day talking to me on the fubjed, ufed the fol- lowing exprefljon : " I might have killed the King of " Sweden, but fuch was myrefpe^ for that hero, that *^ had I conceived the thought, I could not have had " the courage to carry it into execution." I know very well that Siquier himfelf gave occafion for this heavy accufation, which, even to this day, is believed by a part of Sweden : he told me, that during a raging fever at Stockholm, he had cried out that he bad killed the King of Sweden ; and that in the height of his phrenzy he even opened the window, and pub- iiciy begged pardon for the regicide. Wlien he was aipquaintedi in ihc coutfc oi \v\^ t^^qn^^^^ vflth whx KING OP SWEDEN; 2^ be had faid in his illnefsy he was ready to die with grief. This anecdote I did not chufe to reveal during; his life-time. I faw him a Iktle time before his deaths and I think I can fafcly affirm, th^t, fo far from kill- ing Charles XII. he would have fiiffered a thoufand deaths could he have faved his life. Had he been< guilty of fuch a* crime, it muft have been to have fer- ved fome Prince, who, no doubt, would have liberal- ly rewarded him ; but he died in France extremely poor, and even ftood in need of affiftance from myfelf. If thefe reafons are not Sufficient, let it be eonfidered,, that the ball by which Charles fell could iK)t enter into a piftol, and that Siquier could not have executed this^ deteftable crime, but i»th s|.piftol. concealed under his^ cjothes. ^"w ', After the death.of the Khig, the liege of Frederickf^ hall was raifed ; every thiri^ was changed in the Go- vernment. The Swedes, more oppreffed than flatter- ed by the glory of their Prince, loft no time in coA» eluding a peaQe with their enerpies, ^d fuppre(!ing> that abfolute power which Baron de Gort« had made- them feel to excefs. The States freely eledled the Af- ter of Charles XII. for their Queen, and obliged her,, by a folemn ad^, to renounce all hereditary right to the crown, in order that fhe ftiould only holdit by the fuffrages of the najtion. She proinifed with reiterated^ oaths that fte would never attempt to reftore arbitrary. a,uthority, and at laft facrificed the love of royalty to Qonjugal.aflPe^aion, yielded the crown to her hufband^, and engaged the States to eledk that Prince, who mounted the throne. on the fame conditions as herielf. The Baron de Gortz, being feized inftantly after the death of Charles, was condemned by the Senate of Stockholm to have his head cut off at the foot of the . gallows of the town ; an example of revenge, perhaps, . rather than of juftice; and a cruel infult to the mcifnory of a King whom Sweden ftill admires.^ F I N I S^ MORlSONi PRINTER^ ] yHHTH, Af^PCCCI. El?, > \ I f